Nutrients for Hypoglycemia

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Doughnuts, coffee, and fast food are all too familiar staples of the

typical American diet. Aside from offering little nutritional value,

sugars and highly refined carbohydrates can be detrimental to your

health, and commonly result in hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar.

 

What is Hypoglycemia?

 

Most Americans consume 22 percent of their daily calories in sugar,

which is added to almost all prepared foods. Ironically, excess

sugar consumption can lead to low blood sugar. Hypoglycemia affects

more women than men, with the highest incidence between the ages of

30 and 40. As many as 35 percent of all Americans suffer from some

form of hypoglycemia, characterized by a craving for sweets followed

by a quick " sugar high " and then a painful crash as blood sugar

plummets.

 

Symptoms include fatigue, trembling, inability to concentrate,

headaches, and heart palpitations due to high amounts of stress

hormones that the body releases to prevent low blood sugar. To avoid

dangerously low blood sugar levels, the adrenal glands release large

amounts of adrenaline and cortisol, stress hormones that stimulate

the rapid release of stored sugar from the liver and muscles.

 

The Hypoglycemia-Diabetes Connection

 

Hypoglycemia is roughly the opposite of diabetes. In diabetes, the

body fails to produce or utilize enough insulin (which helps the

body metabolize sugar and carbohydrates), so sugar levels become

extremely high. On the other hand, hypoglycemia causes the body to

produce too much insulin, thus lowering blood sugar levels. When you

consume high glycemic foods, (like doughnuts) and drink coffee,

blood sugar levels rapidly rise. This causes the body to quickly

release a large amount of insulin, which removes the sugar from

circulation. This drop in blood sugar levels can leave you feeling

weak and lightheaded. If this process is repeated enough, both you

and your body become exhausted.

 

The major cause of hypoglycemia, according to Carl C. Pfeiffer, PhD,

MD, is the enormous amount of sugar and other refined carbohydrates

and stimulants in the typical American diet. " The body's biochemical

processes cannot handle this tremendously increased load of sugar, "

says Dr. Pfeiffer. Reducing or eliminating your intake of sugar and

caffeine will not only make you healthier but will also leave you

feeling more alert and energetic.

 

Nutrients Can Help

 

The right diet and appropriate nutrients can help control

hypoglycemia.

 

• B-Complex (50 to 100 mg daily) supports carbohydrate and protein

metabolism, while counteracting the effects of malabsorption, common

in people with hypoglycemia.

 

• Vitamin C (500 mg, with or after each meal) supports the adrenal

glands, which often function insufficiently in people with

hypoglycemia.

 

• Digestive Enzymes (take as indicated on label) help improve

digestion and carbohydrate metabolism, thus normalizing blood sugar

levels.

 

• GTF Chromium or Chromium Picolinate (200 micrograms, 3 times

daily) is vital in glucose metabolism and essential for optimum

insulin activity. Chromium levels can be depleted by refined sugars.

 

• Zinc (50 mg daily—do not exceed a total of 100 mg of zinc daily

from all sources) is needed for the proper release of insulin. Those

with hypoglycemia are often deficient in this important mineral.

 

If you are experiencing symptoms of hypoglycemia, request that your

doctor perform a Glucose Tolerance Test. If you do have

hypoglycemia, eat plenty of protein while limiting sugars and

starches. Combined with the right nutrients, a specially designed

anti-hypoglycemia diet can help keep your blood sugar in balance and

keep you symptom-free.

 

SELECTED SOURCES

Christopher Hobbs, LAc, personal communication, 7/2/03

 

Jennifer Jacobs, MD, MPH, personal communication, 6/20/03

 

The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS),

www.fitness.gov/adoles.html; www.fitness.gov/10tips.html

 

Carol Simontacchi, CCN, personal communication, 6/18/03

 

Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child by Janet Zand, ND, LAc, et al.

($22.95, Penguin Group/Avery, 2003)

 

Marcia Zimmerman, MEd, CN, personal communication, 6/23/03

 

http://www.tasteforlife.com/feature.oppositediabetes.tfl

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