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Resolve Hypoglycemia Now!

What is Hypoglycemia?

Literally speaking hypoglycemia, also called reactive hypoglycemia, means low blood sugar. The body tries at all times to maintain a nearly constant blood sugar level. This is especially important for the brain and the nervous system. The only fuel the brain can use is glucose. If the blood sugar level for some reason is depressed below normal, or if blood sugar levels drop too rapidly, the brain is unable to function appropriately. This can lead to a wide variety of symptoms associated with abnormal nervous system function. As we see later, in response to low blood sugar the adrenal glands release adrenaline into the blood stream. Adrenaline produces symptoms of anxiety, trembling and/or panic attacks.

Symptoms Associated with Hypoglycemia


Alcoholism (craving for alcohol, which is fermented sugar)
Allergies
Asthma
Binge eating
Blurred vision
Constant worrying, unprovoked anxieties
Convulsions
Crying spells
Depression
Digestive disturbances
Drowsiness Exhaustion
Faintness, dizziness, tremor, cold sweats, weak spells
Food cravings
Forgetfulness
Headaches
Impotence (males)
Incoordination
Indecisiveness
Insomnia (awakening and inability to return to sleep)
Internal trembling
Irritability
Itching and crawling sensations on skin
Lack of sex drive (females)
Lack of concentration
Leg cramps
Lump in throat
Mental confusion
Muscle pains
Nervous breakdown
Nervousness
Nightmares
Numbness
Palpitation of heart, rapid pulse
Panic Attacks
Phobias
Fears
Rheumatoid arthritis
Staggering
Suicidal intent
Tremors
Twitching and jerking of muscles
Unsocial, asocial, antisocial behavior
Vertigo, dizziness
Dr. Z's Hypoglycemia Support

Dietary Consumption of Sugar

They are three types of foods: carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

Carbohydrate foods include sugar, breads, potatoes, cakes, candies, popcorn, fruits, vegetables and grains.

Fats include animal fat, butter and vegetable oils.

Proteins include meats, chicken, turkey and fish, and such vegetable sources as soybean and other beans.

The sugar consumption in the United States of America has climbed steadily over the last two centuries. 200 years ago, the average person in America consumed less than ten pounds of sugar per year.

In the 1890 is the cola craze swept the nation. These drinks were essentially water and sugar.

By 1975 the average sugar consumption in America had increased to 120 pounds of sugar per year. In 1990 the sugar consumption had increased by nearly 20 pounds to 138 pounds a year. This equals 170 grams of sugar per day. In addition, modern food processing such as milling, leads to nutritionally empty foods.

Even though the French eat plenty of butter, cheese, liver pate and other fatty foods, the incidence of heart disease is 60 percent lower than in United States. The solution to this seeming paradox lies in fact that Americans consume 5 to 7 times more sugar than the French. So, what is wrong with the typical American diet?

The American Diet

The average person in America consumes approximately 425 grams of carbohydrates(starches and simple sugars), 105 grams of protein(amino acids), and 168 grams of fat(glycerol and fatty acids) per day.

Of the carbohydrate, about 60 percent is starch (polysaccharide), 30 percent sucrose, a disaccharide(a combination of two simple sugars) of glucose and fructose, and most of the remainder lactose(milk sugar), a disaccharide of glucose and galactose. Carbohydrate taken in the diet is broken down(hydrolyzed) in the gastrointestinal tract to give the monosaccharides(one simple sugar) glucose (80%), fructose (15%), and galactose (5%). Glucose and galactose are actively transported into the blood directly by the intestinal cells. Low levels of fructose will be converted by the intestinal cells into glucose, whereas high levels of fructose ingested result in fructose being directly absorbed.

Simple sugars represent 40 percent of the total carbohydrate intake among Americans. This means that the sugar intake of the average American amounts to 25 percent of the total daily food by weight. Sugar holds no nutritional value, it is actually harmful to your health. If we do not consume sugar straight in the form of candy, tea spoons of white powder for coffee and tea etc., it is inserted in thousands of foods. Just read the labels!

It should be noted here that the normal adult, under most circumstances, is fully able to synthesize all of the carbohydrates that are needed from non-carbohydrate sources.
Because all of the necessary carbohydrates can be synthesized in sufficient amounts, there is no dietary requirement for carbohydrate and, typically, humans can exist with little or no carbohydrate being provided in the diet.

You can live on protein and fats alone!

You cannot live on just carbohydrates!

Hypoglycemia is dangerous and must be taken seriously!

You can resolve hypoglycemia with diet and supplements!

DR Z's site http://www.drz.org/asp/conditions/hypoglycemia.asp

The part about not needing carbohydrates is true.

There is NO SUCH THING as an essential carbohydrate. You could never eat a carb your whole life, and live just fine.

Unfortunately, carbs are the prefered source of fuel for working muscles.
It's like trying to enter a drag race with regular unleaded fuel. Sure, the car can run just fine with it, but don't expect to win without something that gives a little extra combustion.

haha, good point Troponin!

I think that part of the article was aimed at the people who never race. You know the ones, that just stay parked behind the desk and eat powdered donuts and drink coffee all day.

The reason I posted this is because I have hypoglycemia and did not realize it for years. Actually what led me to realize that I had a problem was a problem I had with alcohol.

No matter how hard I tried to quit drinking I could not do it and just the mere fact that I was trying seemed to make me binge. Both of my parents and grandparents were alcoholics, but, I was determined to find out why and did not accept that it was just the way it was.

Finally I realized that when I had a craving for alcohol I could eat ice cream and it would go away. So I put two and two together and started researching blood sugar and the results of high and low sugar.

Today I can drink or not without a problem, because I now know how to manipulate my sugar levels and better still how to keep them even.

If you, or someone you know has tried to quit drinking and can't, tell them that it could quite possibly be hypoglycemia.

Good post. I'm glad you got the alcohol thing under control. I have the same family background as you. Luckily, I found something else to be addicted to.

Kick ass post EM!! It still amazes me how I can eat something that's usually considered crap, like ice cream, and I will feel great for 2-3 hours. I think it's the fat in the ice cream causes the sugars to absorb at a fairly steady rate. At least that's what I assume. It's just funny how I've tried to avoid eating stuff like that for the longest time, but like you, I'm learning how to better control my blood sugar, and eating a little 'crap' can actually work wonders!

Good point Sluggo, I too use sugar and caffeine when I want a quick burst of energy, but, I also know that not long afterward I will crash.

If I do use simple sugar as an energy source, I cannot get my levels to stabilize for the rest of the day, so I try and do that later in the day.