|
|
| Do you recognise the pattern below? Write down your habits for a day to find out whether you are on a roller coaster of blood sugar highs and lows. If so you have what is known as reactive hypoglycaemia, or more commonly, low blood sugar. |
 |
| Wake up feeling tired | One or more of: tea, coffee, sugary breakfast, cigarette |
| Travel to work | Cup of coffee, sweet or cigarette |
| Arrive at work | Cup of coffee, biscuit |
| Throughout rest of day | Several more cups of coffee or tea and/or biscuits or chocolates |
Other indicators of low blood sugar are:
- Feeling tired most or all of the time
- Feeling faint, dizzy or irritable especially when hungry
- Frequent headaches
- Food cravings and difficulty losing weight
- Poor concentration
- PMT
Blood sugar control is one of the most important parameters of health. Glucose (sugar) in the blood supplies the whole body including the brain with energy and in order to feel good and allow the body to function well, levels of glucose in the blood must be kept within very strict limits. When blood sugar is low, energy is low and any of the above symptoms can be experienced. Any other symptoms we have are likely to be worse when blood sugar is low. For example, asthma attacks, epilepsy, arthritis flare-ups are all more likely to occur when blood sugar levels drop.
Low blood sugar is an extremely common, although poorly recognised problem and is greatly exacerbated, if not caused by diets high in simple sugars and lacking in vital nutrients. Ironically, low blood sugar tends to lead to dietary or lifestyle habits, which contribute, to the overall problem.
When we are experiencing symptoms associated with low blood sugar we tend to crave substances such as sugar (in all your favourite biscuits, cakes, and chocolates as well as less obvious products such as breakfast cereals), tea, coffee, alcohol or cigarettes which have the effect of quickly raising blood sugar levels and, for a while, making us feel better. However, this is a short-term solution as, when blood sugar has risen very high it subsequently falls very low, feelings of well-being disappear...and its time for another fix of sugar or caffeine.
FACT
The level of sugar in the blood is equivalent to 2 teaspoons.
One slice of chocolate cake supplies 14 teaspoons.
|
In the long term this makes the problem progressively worse. In addition to the unpleasant symptoms caused, the mechanisms involved in blood sugar control eventually become completely exhausted by the highs and lows they are expected to cope with, and this can result in adult-onset diabetes, a condition becoming ever more common, with 700,000 new cases diagnosed each year in Britain.
To break this destructive pattern all substances mentioned above such as sugar, tea, coffee, alcohol etc should be avoided and the diet based around complex carbohydrates, fresh vegetables and fish that release their sugar slowly into the system and supply the nutrients required for blood sugar control. Initially it is difficult to break out of the cycle. Without the correct conditions and nutrients the body continues to crave sweet foods, coffee or whatever it has used to raise blood sugar, but while these are taken blood sugar cannot be corrected. Often willpower is insufficient to over-come the cravings of the body and extra nutritional support is needed.
|
