Have you ever experienced low blood glucose? Some individuals are afflicted with a disorder called hypoglycemia. Basically, hypoglycemia (hypo=low, gly=sugar, emia=blood) implies "low blood glucose." This happens if the high sugar level in the bloodstream drops below the point where it can fuel the body's activities. It generally happens after ingesting large dishes, foods high in sugars or maybe processed high glycemic index foods or carbohydrates: sugar rises, insulin surges, and then - rather quickly - blood sugar decline. The hypoglycemia is caused by an "undershoot" where sugar levels fall below the degree that existed before you ate. This reaction, known as reactive hypoglycemia, invariably occurs in response to ingesting the wrong foods types.

Many of my patients experience symptoms they attribute to low sugar, but when tested the blood sugar is typical. This usually occurs if the blood sugar shoots up and then rapidly declines. The symptoms are brought on by the pace at which sugar levels drops, not the specific sugar level.

A healthy diet keeps blood sugar levels pretty much constant, boosting it at times if you need more energy, and letting it wane if you require less - but generally not to the point where it causes an adverse reaction. Of course, nearly none people do that. Think about it: have you eaten a huge meal? Have you ordered consumed a rich dessert, often in an oversized helping, in a good restaurant? Have you ever gotten home late at night, tired but not sleepy, and had a reassuring bowl of ice cream? Have you quenched the afternoon carb craving of yours with a bag of a candy or maybe potato chips bar? All these measures spiked your sugar.

When blood glucose drops rapidly, symptoms come on strong. You are starving (already!), sleepy, tired, and fatigued; your heart rate picks up and also sweating increases. All you want to do is go for a nap, which is the most awful thing you are able to do - your metabolism slows to a crawl. But you most likely cannot sleep anyway, even though you feel sleepy; with your heart pounding and also the additional sweating, you feel annoyed, jazzed, and irritated. Eating carbohydrates makes mind serotonin levels surge. Serotonin calms you and also makes you sleepy, delaying your metabolism. This, of course, leads to weight gain, and glucotrust generates a vicious circle.

We have these signs from time and energy to time. We all like to eat, and then we do not always eat what's great for us. What we can do is fight the urge and the appetite to sleep: we can take a walk, indulge in certain physical exercise. We can do something to maintain or raise our level and metabolism out our sugar.

Endocrinologists treat people with reactive hypoglycemia by having them take in low glycemic index carbs spread out in several small meals throughout the day. This type of eating reduces blood glucose surges along with the insulin spikes which follow. It balances your hungry hormones, by raising the stress hormones that allow you to really feel full as well as decreasing the hormones that make you hungry.