Breakfast cereals. On one hand, we love their crunch, their comfort, and the quick satisfaction they provide.

But most of them are full of sugar and processed carbs. As yummy as they are, none of these favorite cereals would be OK for someone with diabetes or prediabetes to eat regularly.

So you might think breakfast cereals are off limits for snacking and meals. But there are options, and some better than others. This article is going to cover the best ones, and why.

The quantity – how much you eat – is just as important as the brand of breakfast cereal.

Lucky Charms Vs. Trader Joe’s High Fiber Cereal Showdown

Let’s compare two cereals with roughly the same amount of net carbs (total carbs – fiber carbs), both of them coming in at roughly 14g of carbs.

14g of carbs for cereal is pretty good, because if you added 1 cup of milk at 12g, that would total 28g of net carbs for the cereal meal (or snack).

• Trader Joe’s High Fiber Cereal (30g cereal, 23g carb, 9g fiber = 14g net carbs)
• Lucky Charms (18g cereal, 14.7g carbs, 1.3g protein = 13.4 net carbs)

Now you see why it’s important to keep track of the quantity of the cereal you eat, because more cereal = more carbs

Keeping carb levels (and blood glucose levels) is a priority for most people with diabetes and pre-diabetes. So we put together a list of the best cereals.

In order to qualify for this list, the cereals had to be under 40g of net carbs including the milk.

The Best Cereals for Diabetes and Prediabetes Scored By Net Carbs

Fiber One, 1/2 cup	25g carb	14g** fiber	11g net carb	23g net carbs
All Bran, 1/2 cup	23g carb	10g fiber	13g net carb	25g net carbs w/milk
Trader Joes’ High Fiber Cereal, 2/3 cup	23g carb	9g fiber	14g net carb	26g net carbs w/milk
Kashi Go Lean, 1 cup	32g carb	10g fiber	22g net carb	34g net carbs w/milk
Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes, 1 cup	31g carb	7g fiber	24g net carb	36g net carbs w/milk

Well there you have it! 5 breakfast cereals, all under 40g of net carbs (including the milk at 12g of carbs).

Do you know of other cereals that should be on this list? Let us know in the comments.

*Opinion. Check with your doctor before making any dietary changes.

**Be careful adding fiber too fast to any diet. Most experts say it should be added gradually.