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reactive hypoglycemia -- causes and treatments?

Messages
50
Location
australia
Probably help some but not all with this issue. I have an issue with the complex carbs giving me reactive hypoglycemia too. Things like milk (milk has lactose) , nuts and grains all put sugar levels up and then cause my insulin to spike.. then leading to hypoglycemia. I have to keep my milk restricted and my specialists who are treating me for this issue have put a limit of only 10 nuts a day upon me to try to avoid insulin spikes which lead to hypoglycemia.

One of the best breakfasts for ones who suffer from bad hypoglycemia is protein.. lots of protein at breakfast eg a couple of eggs with some steak (no grains) .. low carb veg can be added to this. This will avoid any carb spikes and the breakfast helps set one up for the rest of day.

I find this brekky works for me, different things will work for others. My issues are with fructose, dairy (I have a problem with the protein, so have rice milk and goats milk), I also react to eggs. I found this breakky not only helped with the hypoglycaemia but also gut and bowel function.
 
Messages
50
Location
australia
By the way, I have had food intolerances since birth. As a child dairy gave me reflux and ezema and middle ear issues ( which they now think may be linked to food probs). In my early 20's I began to have issues with bloating and stomach pain ect... 4 yrs ago I tested +ve for fructose mal. In last 2 yrs eggs have been problematic.
 

anniekim

Senior Member
Messages
779
Location
U.K
I noticed in this thread lipoic acid was mentioned as one of the supplements that may help with blood sugar problems. Is lipoic acid the same as alpha lipoic acid and if so, is alpah lipoic acid not recommended if you feel you may have a mercury problem? THanks in advance
 
Messages
50
Location
australia
k=aust...so what do you eat?

i follow a low fructose diet, have goats milk and rice milk (and their cheeses aswell). I avoid eating whole eggs but can tolerate small amts of egg in foods.

Sue Shepherd an Australian dietitian has several cookbooks out - worthwhile googling her regarding food intolerances. I found being very strict with my diet for two years has significantly improved my gut - now I can eat small amounts of problematic foods without too many discomforts. At one stage my gut was so sensitive it bloated even with a glass of water.
 

richvank

Senior Member
Messages
2,732
I noticed in this thread lipoic acid was mentioned as one of the supplements that may help with blood sugar problems. Is lipoic acid the same as alpha lipoic acid and if so, is alpah lipoic acid not recommended if you feel you may have a mercury problem? THanks in advance

Hi, anniekim.

Yes, lipoic acid is generically the same as alpha lipoic acid. Actually, R-lipoic acid is also available. It's the type the body actually uses. Alpha lipoic acid contains both R-lipoic and L-lipoic in equal amounts, and the latter is not used by the body.

If there is a high body burden of mercury, according to Andy Cutler, it's important to take alpha lipoic acid every three hours in order to keep its concentration up in the blood. Otherwise, according to him, it can redistribute mercury rather than take it out of the body.

Rich
 

Grigor

Senior Member
Messages
462
Location
Amsterdam
I really feel hopeless with this problem. I am housebound and my days consist of lying in bed or sofa and go from meal to meal every 2 hours. If I'm too late with food I crash so crazy hard it's not funny anymore.
I'm sure if I were able to get rid of the RH my ME would be a little more bearable as well.
Diets help only to eat the right stuff for it not to get worse. But improvement is not happening.
 

South

Senior Member
Messages
466
Location
Southeastern United States
@Grigor Are you able to eat any of the starchy legumes? (starchy beans, like pinto beans or navy beans)

At least one serving of those per day improves my response to even the most perfectly allergen-free diet. Avoiding the allergenic foods and fructose wasn't enough for me - I also need the slow-digesting long chain starch and soluble fiber in these legumes to really improve matters.

I've suffered from unexplained sudden onset hypoglycemia for decades, not chronic like many people on this thread. But maybe this tip will help someone.

If people have allergies or something to legumes, perhaps some combination of another soluble fiber, (like psyllium, pectin, or guar gum) mixed in the same meal along with any complex starch food that they are ok with.

There's another idea, in the first post on the following thread: "Resistant Starch", which is different than the legumes/soluble fiber thing I just mentioned. Here's a thread on resistant starch, but the advice out there is if you try it, start out with just a tiny bit, not the large doses the first page of the thread mentions:

http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...ge-is-it-the-key-weve-been-looking-for.26976/
 

Snow Leopard

Hibernating
Messages
5,902
Location
South Australia
One of the effects of insulin is to shift the metabolic balance between carbohydrates and lipid metabolism. In reactive hypoglycemia it is speculated that the insulin response is prolonged.

But this shouldn't really result in severe hypoglycemia, unless there is an impairment of lipid metabolism...