disclosure

Better Health Update #16 - Monte Kline, Clinical Nutritionist

Low Blood Sugar

Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, affects tens of millions of Americans. It manifests a wide variety of possible symptoms that can be confused with other health problems. Hypoglycemia is largely a function of the Modern American Diet, that's the M.A.D. Diet, for short. In this article I want to look at the symptoms of low blood sugar, what causes it, how to know if you have it, and finally and most importantly, what do you do about it.

SYMPTOMS OF LOW BLOOD SUGAR

Low blood sugar symptoms are often experienced when you miss or delay a meal, although you can also have symptoms unrelated to meals. Here are the most common symptoms overall:

WHAT CAUSES LOW BLOOD SUGAR?

The most common type of low blood sugar relates relates to excess insulin secretion, or hyperinsulinism. Man-made, processed foods, like white sugar, are molecularly so small they can be absorbed very quickly through the small intestine directly into the blood stream. This very sudden increase in blood sugar causes the pancreas to "go crazy" producing the hormone, insulin, to lower the blood sugar level.

Think of it this way: Let's say you eat a baked potato. Your brain says to the pancreas, "Hey, pancreas, Joe just ate a baked potato - you need to make some insulin to regulate the blood sugar level." And thus the pancreas does indeed make enough insulin to control the rise in blood sugar caused by eating this complex carbohydrate food. All well and good.

But let's say instead you eat a candy bar, or some other highly sugared food. Alarms and sirens go off in your brain! Your brain screams to your pancreas, "Red Alert! Red Alert! I can't believe it, but Joe just ate 25 potatoes! You need to make some insulin in a hurry!" And so the pancreas feverishly goes to work secreting insulin as fast as it can to control the abnormal amount of simple sugar that's just entered the digestive tract.

The problem is, in its extreme reactivity, the pancreas makes way too much insulin! And what does insulin do - it lowers the blood sugar. So the blood sugar goes too low, and you have hypoglycemia. That is the explanation of how high sugar intake can produce low blood sugar - a seeming contradiction.

This sudden drop in blood sugar produces a logical result - you crave more simple sugar, or a stimulant like caffeine, to get the blood sugar back up. You get another hyperinsulin reaction, and on and on this vicious circle goes. Most Americans, unless they eat a more natural food diet, abstaining from refined sugars and flours, have been on this merry-go-round virtually their whole lives.

MORE THAN JUST SUGAR

Hypoglycemic reactions aren't solely about eating white sugar (sucrose) or foods containing it. Most any simple sugar is still a culprit, including brown sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, maltose, or even more natural sugars like honey, pure maple syrup, and blackstrap molasses. But also, refined flours and cereals are about as bad. Eating white bread has almost the same glycemic index as white sugar - that is, the relative speed with which it turns to sugar in the body and stimulates a secretion of insulin.

ELECTROLYTES AND THE BRAIN

When the blood sugar makes this abrupt drop, the body's electrolytes such as potassium and chloride are driven into the cells. This increased intracellular electrolyte levels demands that the extracellular electrolytes move into the cells by osmosis to correct the imbalance. In other words, we get swelling or edema. When this swelling affects the brain cells, the brain malfunctions producing hypoglycemia-type symptoms.

ADRENALS AND LIVER

When your blood sugar drops too quickly, as in the hypoglycemic reaction, the adrenal glands go into action producing adrenalin and cortisol hormones. These hormones prevent insulin from working as efficiently, and thus help maintain the blood sugar levels from dropping so dangerously far that the brain can't function.

These hormones, along with glucagon from the pancreas and pituitary growth hormone, also stimulate the conversion of the stored sugar in the liver, the glycogen, into blood sugar, or glucose.

Similarly the liver can convert protein into blood sugar, as needed.
Here's the problem: The constant refined sugar/refined flour intake of the average American places a continual stress on the adrenals to pump out balancing hormones. This, of course, ultimately weakens the adrenals making it harder and harder for them to respond as the "emergency system" they were created to be. When real adrenal failure sets it, you really have a problem.

Similarly the liver is blocked from it's ability to turn stored protein into sugar by alcohol, liver toxins, the enzyme deficiency that hampers protein digestion.

THE CAFFEINE CONNECTION

Caffeine from coffee, tea, colas, chocolate, or pain relievers stimulates the adrenals to pump out hormones that, by suppressing the action of insulin, increase the blood sugar levels. All this, as if you didn't already have enough stress on your adrenals! Caffeine will thus exhaust your adrenal glands

This function of caffeine on the adrenals is why many people in their times of low blood sugar - namely, mid to late morning or mid to late afternoon, will go get a cup of coffee. Anymore they don't settle for "regular" coffee, but now instead go for the "high test" product, espresso, with even more caffeine! Guess what? I just explained the biological origin for the all-American tradition -the coffee break. It's all about low blood sugar.

TESTING FOR HYPOGLYCEMIA

One of the most frequent questions I am asked at the clinic is whether we test for hypoglycemia - the answer to which is "no." The symptoms of low blood sugar are so obvious in most cases, that testing is really pointless, other than to "scientifically" prove to some knuckle-head that, yes, they really do have hypoglycemia. Few natural or conventional medicine doctors thus do any laboratory tests for this problem.

The traditional medical test for hypoglycemia is a five or six hour Glucose Tolerance Test. It involves measuring the fasting blood glucose first thing in the morning, followed by ingestion of a sugary syrup that will abruptly increase the blood sugar level. The increase and subsequent falling off of the blood sugar is then measured with additional blood draws every hour.
This is not a fun test. People that are hypoglycemic, will tend to have pretty extreme blood sugar drops with the accompanying symptoms. Some become faint, or even pass out in the later stages of the test. Bottom line - the test isn't really needed. You can diagnose yourself, just based on symptoms.

DIETARY SUGGESTIONS

Since low blood sugar is basically caused by wrong eating, the foundation of the solution concerns diet. Some suggestions:

1. Strictly avoid refined sugar - White sugar, brown sugar, "raw" sugar, corn syrup, corn sweeteners, dextrose, maltose, etc. all must be strictly avoid, lest you perpetuate the problem. More natural sugars like raw honey, pure maple syrup, and blackstrap molasses, while they have some advantages, will still tend to create hypoglycemic reactions. Fructose (fruit sugar) is not nearly as reactive, but still should be used cautiously and sparingly.
2. Strictly avoid refined grains - Here we're talking about white flour products, like white bread and pastas. Refined cereals also fall into this category. Most "kiddie" packaged cereals are anywhere from 50 - 80% refined sugar. No wonder so many kids have behavioral problems - often they don't have ADD or ADHD, but just low blood sugar from eating a crummy diet!
3. Strictly avoid caffeine beverages - Caffeine sources include coffee, regular tea, cola drinks, chocolate, and some pain relievers. Avoiding them will go a long way toward rebuilding healthy adrenal glands and less hypoglycemia.
4. Eat whole foods - On the positive side you need complex carbohydrates like whole grains, legumes, beans, and vegetables as a major part of your diet. Protein is also necessary, but beware of too much animal protein or animal fats.
5. Eat three meals per day plus snacks - If you're skipping meals, you're asking for problems with low blood sugar. Eat a "real" breakfast in addition to lunch and dinner. Most people with low blood sugar will benefit from a mid-morning and mid-afternoon protein or complex carbohydrate snack (nut butter on a rye cracker or rice cake, cheese, yogurt, etc.)
6. Don't forget fats - Fats are not categorically bad. Fat intake helps slow down the metabolic process so the blood sugar stays up longer. A little olive oil or cold pressed canola oil on your steamed vegetables is one way to include this.
7. Minimize alcohol - Alcohol is just another simple carbohydrate, so it really aggravates blood sugar. Many feel that alcoholics are generally hypoglycemic and that correcting the low blood sugar greatly reduces the alcohol craving.

SUPPLEMENT SUGGESTIONS

1. Multi-Vitamin/Mineral - I generally use a special multi designed for blood sugar irregularities, that has extra of the more significant nutrients. This is to cover the basic deficiencies.
2. Chelated Multi-Mineral - Most people need additional minerals beyond what's in the multi-vitamin. This provides extra in the most easily assimilated form.
3. B-Complex - In some cases extra B vitamins will be needed beyond what's in the multi-vitamin.
4. Adrenal Glandular - Though there is adrenal glandular in the low blood sugar multi we usually use, many people need this extra adrenal support.
5. Pancreas Glandular - Again, we often need extra pancreas supplementation beyond what's in the multi.
6. Chromium - Chromium is an important component of the insulin molecule and thus becomes very important in helping both low and high blood sugar. It's included in the multi-vitamin and multi-minerals we normally use, but some people need extra.

OTHER SUGGESTIONS

1. Exercise - Exercise helps stabilize the carbohydrate metabolism. Components like exercise, which are good for overall health, generally help your low blood sugar problem as well.

2. Stress Reduction - Given the very significant role the adrenal glands have in regulating insulin levels, you don't want to abuse them with stress. Most people think of stress reduction as getting out of the stressful situations you're in. However, the more often correct way, is learning to react positively to it as you appropriately handle the stress. In short, stop focusing on how hard the wind's blowing, and instead pay attention to the set of your sails so as to be empowered, not destroyed by life's storms.

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this publication is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose illness nor prescribe treatment. Rather, this material is designed to be used in cooperation with your nutritionally-oriented health professional to deal with your personal health problems. Should you use this information on your own, you are prescribing for yourself, which is your constitutional right, but neither the author nor publisher assume responsibility.