Nutrition
Hypoglycemia
Definition: Hypoglycemia is the medical term for a level of blood glucose (blood sugar) that is too low to meet immediate energy needs of the body. Glucose is a sugar that our bodies use for energy. A normal level of glucose in the blood is between 60-110 mg/dl.
Symptoms: Includes: sweating, feeling warm, dizziness, difficulty speaking, inability to concentrate, hunger, drowsiness, anxiety, confusion, nausea, trembling and headaches. Some of these symptoms can be triggered by other things such as anxiety or stress. The only way to know if it is truly hypoglycemia is to measure your blood glucose by taking a small blood sample when you feel symptoms. If your blood glucose is below normal and the symptoms disappear When food is eaten, hypoglycemia probably is the cause of these symptoms.
Causes: It is important to remember that hypoglycemia is not a disease. It is a condition caused by an underlying problem or disease that prevents the body from maintaining normal levels of glucose in the blood. There are two types of hypoglycemia: fasting and reactive.
Fasting hypoglycemia can occur when a person goes without food for eight or more hours. It can be caused by certain underlying diseases (tumors of the pancreas, severe liver disease, adrenal failure) that upsets the body's ability to balance glucose.
Reactive hypoglycemia is when blood glucose levels fall too low within a few hours after eating. This type rarely has a serious underlying cause. and is not easy to diagnose. The best way to manage this type of hypoglycemia is to make changes in your eating habits to assure having glucose enter the bloodstream at a steady, even pace.
Other causes of hypoglycemia may include: drinking alcohol on an empty stomach, taking too much insulin, exercising hard without eating a snack first, poor eating habits such as skipping meals, or eating excessive amounts of carbohydrate foods. The best way to manage this type of hypoglycemia is to make changes in your eating habits.
Eating tips for prevention
- Eat five or six small meals or snacks each day. Eating several small meals each day rather than 3 large ones helps regulate the amount of glucose in your bloodstream. Avoid skipping meals.
- Spread your intake of carbohydrate (CHO) foods throughout the day. Eating large amounts of CHO at one time can stimulate the release of large amounts of insulin, which can cause blood glucose levels to drop. Most people should eat 2-4 servings of CHO food (30-60 grams) at each meal and 1-2 servings (15-30 grams) at each snack.
- Choose high fiber foods in your everyday diet: Soluble fiber is found in the fibrous coatings of foods such as legumes, oat products, and pectin found in fruit. It delays stomach emptying, digestion, and absorption of glucose, therefore helping to prevent hypoglycemic symptoms between meals. Insoluble fiber, found in whole wheat bread, bran cereals, vegetables, and brown rice add bulk to the stool and causes food to pass through the intestine more quickly.
- Choose complex carbohydrates over concentrated sweets: Complex CHO take longer to break down in the intestine, and this helps to keep blood glucose levels more consistent. Pasta, grains, and potatoes are complex CHO. Concentrated sweets such as soda pop, syrup, candy, regular fruited yogurt, pies and cakes are digested rapidly, and this allows glucose to be absorbed into the bloodstream quickly.
- Choose sweeteners such as sorbitol, saccharin, and aspartame: These do not contain sugar or calories and may be used in a hypoglycemia diet. If you have any questions About them, consult your physician or a registered dietitian.
- Include a protein food or beverage at each meal: Proteins are made up of amino acids that the body needs for growth and good health. Most protein (lean meat, skim milk, eggs, legumes, nuts and seeds) can be converted into glucose by the body, but since this process takes some time, the glucose gets into the bloodstream at a slower, more consistent pace.
- Limit your intake of fats: A low-fat diet has been shown to help in treating hypoglycemia. When selecting dairy products and meats for protein; choose lean meat, skim milk products, and eggs in moderation. Use oils sparingly.
- Reduce your intake of foods and beverages containing caffeine: Caffeine stimulates the production of adrenaline and can cause the same symptoms as hypoglycemia.
- Limit or avoid alcoholic beverages: Drinking can cause hypoglycemia all by itself especially on an empty stomach. If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation (1-2 drinks no more that twice a week) and always eat food with it.
- Maintain a healthy weight: Excess weight has been shown to interfere with body functions that regulate glucose. So if you are overweight, reducing to a healthy weight could help to control reactive hypoglycemia.
Hypoglycemia snack ideas:
The following snacks combine protein and carbohydrate, which may help avoid hypoglycemia.
- English muffin and peanut butter
- Cheese and apple slices
- Humus (garbanzo bean mixture) and wheat crackers
- Tuna and pita bread
- Trail mix: peanuts, raisins and dry cereal (such as Cheerios)
- Nuts (walnuts, soy nuts, almonds)
- ½ sandwich (1 slice bread with 1-2 slices of turkey, ham or cheese)
- Cottage cheese and baby carrots
- Yogurt smoothie (1 cup berries, ½ banana, ½ cup vanilla yogurt, 1 cup ice)
- Skim milk and graham crackers
Page updated: 3/27/08
