Day Two Hundred and Ninety Eight!!!!

Hypoglycaemia


As we have said previously, mood follows food. Your energy and mood responds based upon the glucose levels you have in your body. There are two types of hypoglycaemia. Reactive hypoglycaemia is when there is an excessive release of insulin into your system, following a highly refined carbohydrate meal. On the other-hand primary hypoglycaemia occurs when there is an inadequate supply of carbohydrates in the system. 


Hypoglycaemia occurs when the level of glucose in your blood drops below normal levels. When you have a drop in your blood glucose level you can experience a wide range of symptoms. When people suffer reactive hypoglycaemia their mood changes. You can experience irritability, anxiety, light-headedness, nervousness, weakness, confusion, panic, and cravings for sweets. Hypoglycaemia can appear as severe mood swings and as such it can be mistaken for anxiety, bipolar, ADHD, depression, and hypoglycaemia can actually be a result of carbohydrate addiction because with carbohydrate addiction there is an excessive release of insulin followed by high carbohydrate intake of refined sugars, causing reactive hypoglycaemia. Generally speaking when people are highly chronically stressed this sets the stage for the nasty cycle of the need for refined sugar consumption, creating energy bursts to overcome the chronic stress but results in a bottoming out of reactive hypoglycaemia, creating the need to eat more refined sugar, and the cycle goes around.


Hypoglycaemia is associated with lightheadedness, mood changes, and foggy thinking because the brain is not receiving as much blood sugar as it needs in order to be able to function properly. Hypoglycaemia is seen in people with drug and food addictions including alcoholism as well as cigarette smoking. People with hypoglycaemia are often reaching for comfort foods which generally speaking are high in sugar and high in poor quality fats. The sugars and fats release opioids in the brain creating a pleasure response that can also result in being put to sleep. We often turn to food in order to comfort our stress as well as unpleasant emotions. Food can become a part of a self-comforting strategy. Foods high in sugar and poor quality fats cause inflammation and other adverse reactions.


People who suffer from hypoglycaemia may be deficient in essential fatty acids. When decreasing or eliminating refined carbohydrates and sugars many will suffer the symptoms of withdrawal resulting in severe mood swings and irritability. As such, there is a linkage between hypoglycaemia and carbohydrate addiction. So the next time you say ‘I am hypoglycaemic’ you are actually really saying ‘I have a sugar addiction’. 


So how to overcome your addiction?
Replace those refined carbohydrates with healthy high quality proteins and fats. Eat your vegetables as your primary source of carbohydrates. Eat small amounts of high quality protein, fat, and vegetables. Food can be a part of your self-comforting strategy, only you have to do it with awareness, it has to be a cognitive effort to make choices that will enhance your health. Comforting yourself with food is fine, it is just that you have to be able to choose healthy comfort foods and eat them in moderation.