| HYPOGLYCEMIA (low blood sugar) - natural treatments
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• What is hypoglycemia?
• How can I treat hypoglycemia naturally
• Hypoglycemia - natural treatments and remedies
• Diet for hypoglycemia
• Lifestyle tips for hypoglycemia
• Blood sugar questionnaire |
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What is hypoglycemia?
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Do you suffer from symptoms of fatigue, dizziness, mood swings and a craving for sweets? There may be many causes for this, but one common reason is that one is suffering from hypoglycemia.
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Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, is a condition in which there is an abnormally low level of glucose in the blood. If you blood sugar drops too low you can have a blood sugar reaction called hypoglycemia. A low blood sugar can come on fast. A level below 3% = 60mg is called low blood sugar. It is believed that most cases of hypoglycemia occur between midnight and 8am.
You may wish to take our blood sugar questionnaire at the bottom of this file to see if you have problems with your blood sugar levels.
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How can I treat hypoglycemia naturally?
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There are many things you can do through lifestyle changes, dietary changes and even with the use of herbs and supplements. Find below our tips and recommendations.
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Hypoglycemia- natural treatments and remedies
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Diet for hypoglycemia
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Eat a diet high in fibre, including large amounts of vegetables and apples. This will help stabilise blood sugar levels. Soluble fibre slows down the release of glucose.
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Avoid sweet fruits and juices, such as grape and prune. If you drink these dilute with and equal amount of water.
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Sweeten foods with natural sweeteners, such as stevia, a southern American herb that is 200 times sweeter than sugar, cinnamon and molasses
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Avoid alcohol, canned and packaged foods refined and processed foods, dried fruits, salt, sugar, saturated fats, soft drinks and white flour.
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Avocados are good as they contain seven carbon sugar that depresses insulin production.
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Add Brewers yeast to porridge or salads. It is rich in chromium which will help blood sugar levels.
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Eat about 6 meals throughout the day. Do not skip meals or consume heavy large meals.
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Eat a predominately low to moderate GI foods (see GI index on this site) and avoid high GI foods on their own.
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Drink 8 glasses of water per day, preferably filtered
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Eat foods rich in vitamin B group, such as brewers yeast, liver, whole grains. Nuts and seeds are good as they are high in B vitamins, and protein and help stabalise blood sugars.
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Vitamins and minerals that are important for regulating glucose levels include the following.
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Chromium picolinate: 100 to 200 mcg three times per day with meals
Magnesium: 200 mg two to three times per day
Vanadyl sulfate: 10 to 20 mg per day
Zinc: 15 to 30 mg per day
B complex: 50 to 100 mg per day
Niacinamide: 500 mg per day
Pyridoxine (B6): 100 mg per day
Pantothenic acid (B5): 250 mg per day
Vitamin C: 250 to 500 mg two times per day
Vitamin E: 400 IU per day
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Lifestyle tips for hypoglycemia
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Stress maintenance. Stress is a major factor in hypoglycemia, as it affects adrenal function and blood sugar levels. Meditation, listening to relaxing music, massage or deep breathing techniques are all helpful
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Maintain a regular exercise program, a minimum of 30 min's three times a week. This helps maintain steady blood sugar levels. Eat 1 - 3 hours prior to exercise.
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Blood Sugar Questionnaire
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| Where hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, is a condition in which there is an abnormally low level of glucose in the blood, hyperglycemia on the other hand is an excess of glucose in the blood. This can also be an indication of diabetes or the first stages of somebody leading up to diabetes. In people with diabetes, glucose builds up in the blood stream instead of being taken into and used by the cells, leading to hyperglycemia. Diabetics can have periods of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. The symptoms of hyperglycemia (too much sugar in the blood) often include fatigue, a constant need to urinate, extreme thirst, constantly feeling hungry, loss of weight and problems with eyesight. The initial symptoms of hypoglycemia are hunger, dizziness, sweating, confusion, palpitations, and a numbness or tingling of the lips.
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| If you suffer a few of the above symptoms you may wish to undertake our blood sugar questionnaire. If your results show a likely problem with blood sugar levels we suggest that you undertake a fasting blood glucose test with your doctor, herbalist or naturopath for diagnosis and then treatment if necessary
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| Instruction: Check off each one of the symptoms in one of the columns to indicate the degree of severity which best applies to your case. Zero (0) column checked means you don't have the symptoms on that line, One (1) means MILD. Two (2) means MODERATE and three (3) means SEVERE. At the bottom of each column add up the score using the number of symptoms checked in that column add up the score using the number of symptoms checked in that column and multiplied by the number printed at the top of that column. Your total score equals the sum of all columns. A total score of less than twenty (20) is within the normal limits. A higher score is presumptive evidence of possible carbohydrate intolerance. This could manifest as hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia - high blood glucose levels. We would suggest at this stage that you undertake a fasting glucose test with your doctor or naturopath. If there are blood glucose problems we suggest you undertake dietary changes with the use of natural treatments and remedies to correct any imbalances.
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Name _____________________________ Score _____________________________ |
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SEVERITY INDEX |
SYMPTOMS |
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0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
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Abnormal craving for sweets.
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Afternoon headaches.
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Consume alcohol.
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Allergies : tendency to asthma, hay fever, skin rash etc.
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Awake after a few hours sleep-hard to get back to sleep.
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Aware of breathing heavily.
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Bad dreams.
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Bleeding gums.
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Blurred vision.
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Brown spots or bronzing of skin.
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Bruise easily. “black and blue spots”
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“Butterfly stomach” cramps
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Can't decide easily
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Can't start in morning before coffee.
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Can't work under pressure.
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Chronic fatigue.
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Chronic nervous exhaustion.
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Convulsions
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Crave candy or coffee in afternoons
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Depressed
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SEVERITY INDEX |
SYMPTOMS |
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0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
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Dizziness or giddiness or light-headedness
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Drink more than 3 cups of coffee or Cola drinks daily
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Get hungry or feel faintness unless eat frequently
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Eat when nervous
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Fatigue, relieved by eating
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Fearful
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Get “shaky” if hungry
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Hallucinations
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Hand tremor (or trembles)
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Heart palpitates (heats fast) if meals missed or delayed
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Highly emotional
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Nibble between meals because of hunger
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Insomnia
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Irritable before meals
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Lack of energy
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Magnify insignificant events
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Moods of depression “blues” or melancholy.
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Convulsions
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Poor memory or ability to concentrate
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Reduced initiative
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Sleepy after meals
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Sleepy during day
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Weakness, dizziness
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Worrier, feel insecure
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Feel better after 10 a.m. snack than before
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Symptoms come before breakfast
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Total Score in each Column
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