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Hypoglycemia lajohnson1982
  May 14 2008 21:17

Hello calorie counters!!

My issue is that I have hypoglycemia. If I don't eat before a certain amount of time, I get light-headed, even dizzy, my head hurts, I get tired (like I could pass out) and grouchy. I'm getting good at having snacks at work. Usually Special K Bars.

My question is, does anyone know of healthy snacks I could leave lying around for those times? Something that contains the sugar I need, but won't affect my diet? I think this is something that is getting in the way of my weight loss.

Any suggestions would be AWESOME!! THANK YOU!!

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#1 atech May 14 2008 21:30

I also experience fasting hypoglycemia if I go too long without eating. 

If it gets to the point where your blood sugar is low enough that you are light-headed, dizzy, etc., you need to quickly get sugar into your system; hard candy, fruit juice, fruit, or even just "a spoon full of sugar" is good for this. 

If you still have some time before the hypoglycemia goes too far, starchy foods like potatoes, white rice, or white bread are good too; basically something that the body can quickly convert to sugar.

It has been quite some time since I have experienced fasting hypogycemia because I make sure that I have something to eat every few hours, usually just a small snack between meals.  For meals, I also make sure to eat foods that don't break down to sugar too quickly (whole grains, for example), this keeps my blood sugar more consistant throughout the day.  I also heard a little rumor once that cinnamon help regulate blood sugar.  I tried adding cinnamon to meals when I knew my next availablility to eat might be a ways off, but I didn't notice any difference with or without the cinnamon.

#2 kajikit May 15 2008 00:48

Special K bars aren't a very good snack for hypoglycemia because they're very high in sugar and they could make your sugar levels spike and drop again quite quickly... ideally, your emergency snacks should have protein in them in some form as well as the sugar - cheese, nuts, peanut butter - because it'll stabilise you for longer than straight sugar. How about trail mix? Nature Valley Peanut Bars? Soy Nuts or Soy Crisps? If you want something natural,  how about Clif Nectar bars? They're just fruit and nuts and they taste great.

Eating regularly isn't going to damage your diet - the sugar spikes make you much hungrier than just eating a measured snack every few hours.

#3 toridl May 15 2008 01:36

A good apple or some grapes perhaps?

#4 lajohnson1982 May 15 2008 04:03

these are all great suggestions and going on my shopping list!! thanks everyone!!

#5 musictchr May 16 2008 05:00

You may find this article helpful

  http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/Handouts/hypoglycemia_nutrition _reactive.html

Take care!

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