Is a low carb diet good for people with hypoglycemia?

Deja Q

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Thu May-20-04 07:30 PM
Original message

Is a low carb diet good for people with hypoglycemia?

Just curious. The nurse today told me that if I feel sweaty, trembling, dizzy, et cetera, again, to eat something with sugar or other carbs in it...

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Spinzonner

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Thu May-20-04 07:32 PM
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1. Sure, why not

you can never have too little energy ...

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DemCam

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Thu May-20-04 07:34 PM
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2. Have mild hypoglycemia

and find that anything with sugar makes it worse. The sugar makes me get the shakes even worse. I do best with peanuts or fat...ie, chicken or cheese or egg.

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Richard D

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Thu May-20-04 07:35 PM
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3. I'd recommend . . .

Going for the low carb diet as much as possible. eating sugar is like throwing gasoline on a fire. Lot of heat and flame, but it doesn't last long. Protein and complex carbs are more like coal. Not dramatic but steady. There's a whole cycle with insulin that is triggered with sweets stuff that just isn't good, and can take hypoglycemia into metabolic syndrome (Syndrome X), and then into type 2 diabetes.

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Richard D

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Thu May-20-04 07:35 PM
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4. I'd recommend . . .

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LeftCoast

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Thu May-20-04 07:39 PM
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5. The nurse is right and wrong

If you're having a full-blown hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) episode, a glass of orange juice or something with sugar can help short-term. But if you don't eat, you'll have another sugar crash very soon.

Low carb diets can be a good solution for some hypoglycemics because many carbs convert quickly into sugar which then triggers a low-blood sugar episode (counter-intuitive, eh?). I'd suggest a well-balance diet and eating on a regular schedule 4 - 5 times daily. Do not skip breakfast either.

I've also found, to my surprise, that Chromium picolonate helped as well. You can get it at virtually all stores that sell diet supplements.

Good luck.

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murphymom

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Thu May-20-04 07:42 PM
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6. Maybe a better long-term solution:

Edited on Thu May-20-04 07:42 PM by murphymom

Try breaking down your daily food intake into several mini-meals with protein and complex carbohydrates and avoid large quantities of simple carbohydrates (sugary stuff). This will help avoid the insulin spikes that drive your blood sugar too low in the first place.

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mom cat

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Thu May-20-04 07:58 PM
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7. Low carb and frequent small meals is the best plan

The nurse is wrong...unless you are on the verge of passing out. Sugar just spikes the blood sugar too high and sets up the next plunge. A low carb diet with reasonable fat and protein releases energy at a more steady rate thus giving more sustained energy without the crashes.

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Deja Q

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Thu May-20-04 08:13 PM
Response to Reply #7

8. Hmmm... why not both low-carb and sugar-spike to alleviate an immediate

crisis? Wouldn't something sugary (1/2 glass of orange juice or whatever) combined with something "low-carb" give a person an instant boost along with something that gives them "long lasting relief"?

They clearly talked of short-term measures, but if blood sugar is very low then a short term solution isn't necessarily a bad thing? Eating low carb food would take forever to stabilize the condition... (of course by eating small portions of low-carb yummies often, this situation would likely not happen at all...)

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MercutioATC

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Thu May-20-04 08:56 PM
Response to Reply #8

10. My understanding of what I've read:

The problem with carbs that are high on the glycemic index (and sugars) is that they provide a quick high followed by a rapid crash. By limiting carbs to those that are low on the glycemic index (non-starchy, non-sugary) you eliminate both the highs and the lows...seems like it'd be a good think for hypoglycemia, but I'd also recommend talking to a doctor.

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rooboy

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Thu May-20-04 08:22 PM
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9. I would ask a respectable doctor.

Democratic Underground may have become Diet Underground lately, but I wouldn't trust advice I get off this board. Even mine.

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