Lurisia Dale wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I have a friend who is hypoglycemic but not diabetic, though she is, according
>to her doctor, at risk of developing diabetes.
>
Hypoglycemia is a stage along the way to diabetes.
I have talked with many people who have
it, and invariably they have diabetes in their family.

>As I understand it, hypoglycemia is essentially the opposite of
>insulin-resistance: The body's insulin is overly effective at clearing glucose
>from the bloodstream, which leads to consistent levels of low blood sugar.  My
>
No, not "consistent levels of low blood sugar".  This hypoglycemia is
reactive; eat too many high-glycemic carbs (especially when
protein or fat is insufficient), and the insulin overshoots.  Then
you get a blood sugar crash, an extremely unpleasant event.
It is impossible at this point not to eat
to raise your blood sugar.  If you do this with
candy or soda, of course, you'll get another crash
when that food wears off.

>first question is, If this is the case, why would having hypoglycemia put
>someone at risk of developing diabetes?
>
As Paul Sand said, frequent overshoots (hyperinsulinemia)
eventually causes the cells to resist the occasional high
levels of insulin.  For some people, becoming diabetic
finally eliminates the crashes, but others seem to suffer
tremendous swings, high sugar and low.
Hypoglycemia is an early indication that the carbohydrate
metabolism of the body is not working
correctly.

>Also, I know all about how modern diets cause insulin resistance.  Can they also
>cause hypoglycemia?
>
Absolutely.  Some of the worst offenders are sugar and
caffeine (i.e. colas), tofutti (the highest glycemic
food known on the planet), and sugared cereal.

>My last question is, Is the paleo diet good for controlling hypoglycemia?  If
>so, why?
>
Yes. Firstly, you eliminate the worst offenders for high
glycemic foods.  Also, the paleo diet is by its
nature higher in protein and fat, which cushions the insulin
swing.  If you are careful with fruit choices (berries are better
than bananas) and amounts, you should be able to eat
without ever having a blood sugar crash.

>Thanks for any references or info,
>Lurisia
>

My information is from 35 years of dealing with this
condition, reading as much information as I
could find (don't remember the references), and talking
with other people who have the condition.
Reactive hypoglycemia is not rare, though one of my
doctors said it was, and that the frequent spells of
faintness and trembling that I was suffering were
all in my head (I was still drinking colas,
this was before I had really figured
out the dietary connection).  He said it was a trendy
thing that nobody really had.  This was in 1960!

If I find a good internet reference, I'll post it.
In my opinion, a careful-carb Paleo diet is the very
best diet that a hypoglycemic could eat. It is not
necessary to eat every two hours (unless you are
eating a high-carb high-glycemic diet) as some
doctors say.  Others suggest that you take hard
candy with you to eat whenever you feel faint; you
can understand that this is like pouring gasoline
on a fire.

If you convince your friend to go Paleo and take it
easy on the fruits (and avoid juices), that should solve
her problems.  If she wants more info, refer her to the
Glycemic Index.  If she eats carbs low on the glycemic
index, she should also avoid problems.

http://diabetes.about.com/library/mendosagi/nmendosagi.htm

    Lynnet