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Last posts on private forums:  sare  2008-06-16 09:56:33 matthew 2008-04-12 21:25:59 pieniadz 2008-04-12 20:52:26
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Last posts on private blogs: matthew 2008-04-12 21:25:17 mary 2008-04-12 19:27:47 |
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Lastly added medical terms:
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You are in: Main Page / Medical articles / Diabetes / Symptoms of Hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia which literally means "under-sweet blood" is a state of lower than normal level of glucose in the blood. Some people have an inborn tendency to hypoglycemia, in others it can be caused by a disease e.g. diabetes. The article describes the symptoms of hypoglycemia and gives advice on an appropriate diet.
When do we talk about hypoglycemia?
Generally, the ordinary level of glucose is <100mg/dl (5.6 mmol/l). Hypoglycemia is defined for glucose levels around 40 mg/dl (2.2 mm/l) and its first signs appear at the level of 50 mg/dl (2.8mmol/l).
The main symptoms of hypoglycemia
1) First of all, hypoglycemia leads to reduction of life energy, which results in excess tiredness, exhaustion and apathy. First of all, the symptoms can be observed in the morning and in the afternoon. Morning symptoms are caused by the fall of sugar levels at night which is a natural reaction of the organism. Whereas the afternoon low sugar levels in the blood result from the reaction of organism to a sudden increase of glucose in blood. It suddenly increase so as to drop drastically afterwards, this is mostly because of the fact that pancreas produces large amounts of insulin. The afternoon hypoglycemia is called an after-meal hypoglycemia.
2) Other symptoms include: problems with concentration, irritability, bad mood or even depression. They are caused by the insufficient amount of glucose transported to the brain.
3) Hypoglycemia can also produce such conditions as weakness, or dizziness.
4) Apart from that, when the blood sugar levels are low a person feels an urge for sweets - it is a natural reaction of the organism which demands something which would supply the organism quickly with decent amounts of sugar.
Following a sensible diet:
By following a sensible diet you can avoid sudden reductions of glucose levels in the blood. It is advisable to learn the rules of Montignac diet which is based on products with low glycemic index (GI).
The basic rules of the diet include:
Eating more small meals with increased frequency. In other words, we should follow the rule "eat less but more frequently", breaks between meals should be no longer than 3-4 hours. The number of meals during the day should be around 5-6 (3 larger ones and healthy snacks). This will make the glucose levels stabile and the organism won't have to face sudden drops of sugar.
It is important to pay attention to Glycemic Index the products have. GI means the time in which those products emit sugar to the blood. Low GI products (up to 50) include: milk, barley, apples, peach, pears, chick peas, yogurt, whole-wheat bread, meat, eggs, butter, cheese, soy, nuts, green vegetables, grapefruits. Medium GI (50-80) products: pasta, beans, peas, orange and high GI (80-100): bananas, potatoes, mango, white rice, raisins, corn, carrots. Products which should be avoided (more than 100) include: sweets, white bread, cornflakes, etc. Foods with low glycemic index ensure slow release of sugar to the blood. If we eat products with high GI we should eat them together with those with a small level of GI. However, we should base the diet on products with low glycemic index.
Added by:
mary
not connected with health care system
Added on:
2008-11-27 11:53:40 ,
Updated:
2008-11-27 12:09:51
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