Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Why Eliminating Sugar is Crucial in Treating Reactive Hypoglycemia



If you have reactive hypoglycemia your body has become sensitive to foods containing sugar and carbohydrates. When treating hypoglycemia it is common to receive the advice from nurses, doctors, and others to alleviate your symptoms with more sugar. A glass of OJ, a candy bar, a piece of chocolate. Sound familiar? This is a big mistake and here is why:

The Infamous "Crash"
Let's review the process of "the crash". Your body was designed to balance blood sugar levels with ease but after years of refined sugar and processed food consumption (the American diet), your body's control systems are over-worked and weakened, and your body is unable to manage glucose effectively sending you on a rambunctious journey of sugar highs and lows, better known as the "crash".

What is the crash? After eating a food high in refined sugar and/or carbohydrates, your blood sugar first skyrockets triggering the pancreas to release a high level of insulin to rid the body of the excess glucose in your blood. Once the insulin kicks into overdrive, it causes your blood sugar to plummet, giving you that infamous "crash" feeling, which is accompanied by symptoms such as lightheadedness, dizziness, shakiness, and possibly faintness.

Sugar wreaks havoc on the body.
Eliminating sugar is crucial in treating reactive hypoglycemia and there are many health reasons to do so. Damage to your pancreas which produces the insulin hormone, your liver responsible for storing excess glucose as glycogen and supplying it to the cells and brain, and your adrenal glands with the job of supplying energy to the brain and body is inevitable if precaution is not taken. Learn Everything You Need to Know About Sugar.

Sugar is toxic.
The type of sugar that we usually think about when we hear the term sugar is table sugar, known as sucrose. Table sugar is refined and contains no nutritional value. Learn in detail why sugar is toxic to your body by watching Sugar: The Bitter Truth and reading Why Sugar is Toxic to the Body. Eat less sugar if you want to live longer!

Sugar is addictive.
Put plainly, sugar is toxic and addictive. Sugar has the same effect on the brain as morphine and heroin. Shocked?

Reactive hypoglycemics that are in a moderate to severe stage may not be able to tolerate some natural forms of sugar or sugar alternatives such as sweet fruit and honey. I couldn't tolerate fruit at all, especially bananas. While I strongly urge a strict hypoglycemic diet in the beginning of your treatment, your body is your best judge. If your body has a negative reaction such as dizziness or fatigue, eliminate it from your diet. It is possible to slowly work fruits back into your diet later after your body is conditioned to use protein and healthy fats as a source of energy rather than refined and simple sugars.

Sugar is disguised.
Be aware of how sugar is labeled! Packaged and canned foods should also be eliminated due to their sugar content. You must learn to read labels carefully. Sugar is hidden in foods you wouldn't even think would contain sugar. To identify sugar on labels look at the ingredients list for ingredients such as:

INGREDIENTS: sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, beet sugar, barley malt, corn syrup, dextrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, honey, maltodextrin, maltose, malt syrup, rice syrup, sucrose



Bottom line.
Consumption of sugar will lead to adverse effects on your health.

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