<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
>I've been on the test gf diet since September 19, and have recently noticed a
>pattern.  I have found that before meals (mostly dinner), I feel so tired
>that I feel like skipping dinner and going to bed.  I'm so fatigued, it's
>hard to even get the energy to eat.  I've noticed that when I do go ahead and
>drag myself to the table to eat, I don't feel as tired after the meal!   And
>it's not as if I'm skipping meals so that I'm excessively hungry by the end
>of the day.  I've now switched to eating more healthy snacks like fresh
>fruit, rather than the junk food I'd eat before this diet.
 
>In response to Deb's message, I have a similar situation. ...
> My blood sugar fluctuates, and is usually
>low between meals unless I "graze"
 
Likely either the early stages of one kind of Type II diabetes or a pure
"hypoglycemic" condition. Type II diabetes has a prevalence of 5 % in the
general population: no obvious enhancement among celiacs, unlike Type I. In
this form of Type II and in "hypoglycemic", the body overproduces insulin in
response to eating carbohydrates, especially "rich" foods, those high in
carbohydrate  for their weight. For the Type II to be, this is due to an
insulin receptor problem, that is, a defect in the use of insulin that the
body tries to overcorrect. Eventually, the body's insulin cells are
exhausted and the high blood sugar of diabetes appear. For the
"hypoglycemic" condition, it's likely some defect in insulin production and
this tired state just continues. Getting the latter diagnosed is hard.
 
Tiredness is not one of the more obvious symptoms of low blood sugar,
however, and may just indicate the insulin receptor problem of Type II,
rather  than the "hypoglycemic" condition.
 
See an endocrinologist. If you want to verify the low blood sugar find a
friend with a home meter and measure say 2 hours after a meal. If much under
100 or so you're making too much insulin.
 
Switching your carbohydrates to those less rich will help a lot. Foods with
a low glycemic index will help, especially if eaten with protein. Grazing
makes sense. Carbohydrate vegetables other than potatos are much better than
fruit and are gluten free. All the legumes--beans, dried peas, etc. -are
especially good. Fats are bad --increase the receptor problem.
 
                            Kemp Randolph