• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

I think i might have hypoglycemia

Resurgam said:
Up until 100 years ago there were no breakfast cereals, so people ate meat or fish, with whatever they fancied.
Click to expand...

Only for nobility, and the very rich I fear.
Most people fancied not being dead by the end of the day in reality.
Thin gruel, maybe some oats, last nights bread, but for the vast majority, it was 100% carbs.
Meat and fish were saved for the meals for the'workers', when they came home from a 12 hour shift at work. It certainly wasn't wasted on the breakfast.
Kelloggs merely added a few more vitamins and nutrients to the all bran, and saved the lives of many.
But either way, it definitely was a step up, if you weren't one of the very privileged few.
 
I think that you've read too much Charles Dickens. In Yorkshire bacon, kippers, sausages, mutton chops and the like were breakfast foods, or once the trains were running fresh herring or other types of fish - in those days there was very little of the catch thrown back, it was all landed and sold to be eaten.
 
Sasuages are very filling, that's why i mentioned fry ups, but they aren't the sort of thing that's healthy to eat every day. That's the problem.
 
ghost_whistler said:
Sasuages are very filling, that's why i mentioned fry ups, but they aren't the sort of thing that's healthy to eat every day. That's the problem.
Click to expand...
I never eat anything considered healthy on the grounds that it is likely to kill me faster than just about anything else. I do get my sausages from the butcher where I buy all my meat - I used to work for Allied Lyons so I know the way processers think about the food they sell.
 
Good gracious! No one can claim that anyone in history ate only particular foods. Polarisation doesn't win arguments.

From what i know about my family (both sides, 4 generations) there were Herefordshire farmers, Cirencester butchers, some were in service, oh, and then there were the Cornish fishermen.

Plenty of opportunities for enough protein, enough food, and whatever was conventionally considered a 'normal' diet of the time.

Plus, the family cookery books have some amazing recipes in them - across the whole range of dishes, from meat, fish, fowl, vegetables, cakes and desserts.

What they didn't have were chips, sliced white bread, cheap sugar, nasty cheap 'pink paste' sausages, processed foods, sedentary lifestyles, and dietary advice suggesting they go 'low fat' and base their diet around carbs.
 
Last edited:
It's all about how to be and feel well and of course healthy!
It's your diet that's making you will!
It's the carbs and sugar within manufactured foods and breads that are causing your excessive weight and symptoms.
If I said stop eating bread as it is killing you, would you?
Bergen bread, I have one slice as a piece of toast is low carb and depending where you get it is usually cheaper than a normal sliced loaf!
Protein rolls are reasonably priced from lidl. There are cheap alternatives in every food. There is a lot more that you need to know, but take it easy, you have to get your head around this. It took me quite a while to find out the knowledge and a lot of searching on the internet to get it all, plus a lot of testing and experimentation.
Homemade curry is about 6gms of carb in a decent portion. No rice of course!
Are you a meat lover? That will help!
A vegan or vegetarian will find it easier!
An English breakfast is my favourite. Gammon, eggs, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes alongside some black pudding! All fried in saturated fat!
It is not as bad as you think!
The feeling of hunger will go after a while. True, your appetite will change!
I only eat when I want to enjoy it, not because I have to!
You'll just have to read the posts to see what you can do.

Ok, my one of oral glucose tolerance test results went thus, this was before I had my full diagnosis.
'8.30 Pre test fasting 5.3 mmols
9.00 8.9
9.30. 11.2
10.00. 13.3 (hyper)
10.30. 12.9 second insulin response. (Overshoot)
11.00. 7.8
11.30. 6.0
12.00. 3.8
12.30. 3.5
1.00. 3.1 (hypo) test stopped

That's why a two hour OGTT is not the recommended test for Hypoglycaemia.
 

I believe that what my parents or my grandparents ate had nothing to do with my condition or that one type of food is better for you or not. What's healthy for you maybe poison to me!
I know my family ate what they could afford which wasn't much!
Mostly offal or cheap!
But that is healthy for me!
I have a dairy intolerance so cereals were out for me! We ate my nans home made bread! Go figure!
Most of my family ate a lot of cooked vegetables. I couldn't even abide the smell!
It's who we are, we can't fit the norm!
 
@ghost_whistler

It seems to me that you are concerned re feeling hungry if you aren't eating bread, potatoes, rice, pasta etc and I was thinking exactly the same. My thoughts, when I looked to see what LCHF diet included/omitted, was 'no way, I couldn't survive on that food'. I seemed to have such an appetite and so loved desserts and chocolate.

However, I started by reducing my two pieces of wholemeal toast and marmalade with only one piece. Then I progressed to only one filled roll, plus dessert, for lunch, started to cook more meals using fresh meat, ie bolognaise sauce, chilli, whole chicken in pressure cooker and put in freezer, in portions (l live alone)

Be amazed!!! I certainly was!!! I didn't feel hungry. I couldn't believe it. So, I cut back even further, would have a few raspberries with cream for dessert after steamed veg with cheese, and just stopped feeling hungry - due to 1) slight increase in fat (ie butter, oil on salads, cream on desserts and in coffee) but also 2) because once you stop eating carbs, it seems you lose the cravings for them. I'm not even too bothered about chocolate now, although I was certainly a desperate chocoholic - and not exaggerating.

So, please don't worry re feeling hungry without carbs. It's the carbs that are responsible for this craving/feeling hungry. I would never have believed it without experiencing it.

The lack of carbs to send your glucose level up, along with some fats to delay converting to glucose is what helps not be hungry.

As for losing weight, don't worry about the fat. My cholestrol has actually improved, although I feared my results would be dreadful. Because of not eating carbs, your body starts to use your body fat, converting it into a useable form, hence you are likely to lose a good amount of weight. So far, I've lost just over 3 stone in 12 months and that's without struggling, without much exercise as I have mobility issues. I've never been able to 'diet, doing WW and SW but just couldn't stick to it.

Maybe give it a try - I suspect you'll start feeling so much better

Oops! Sorry it got so long
 

Hi, when someone is diagnosed with T2 or a variation of hypoglycaemia, they would usually have insulin resistance and can have high levels of insulin and glucose.
What eating low carb does is restrict the insulin response to meals to a level that the body can deal with. The body uses muscle fat as energy instead of the carbs. Thus losing visceral fat and reducing the levels of insulin resistance and insulin and glucose. The body just becomes healthier because of the reduction of glucose and insulin! That's simplifying things to basics!
The symptoms are varied and numerous including extreme hunger and other mental health problems.
The op does come across as a very anxious person, a classic symptom of hypoglycaemic episodes and fluctuating blood glucose levels.
 
Are there any good lists of meals for a low carb diet. I don't think i can get away with sausages for breakfast every day (and not the decent kind either, they aren't cheap unfortunately).
 
ghost_whistler said:
Are there any good lists of meals for a low carb diet. I don't think i can get away with sausages for breakfast every day (and not the decent kind either, they aren't cheap unfortunately).
Click to expand...

Click on the Dietdoctor link in my signature and have a look around the website. Lots of information, menus and ideas.
 
ghost_whistler said:
Are there any good lists of meals for a low carb diet. I don't think i can get away with sausages for breakfast every day (and not the decent kind either, they aren't cheap unfortunately).
Click to expand...

Don't concentrate on what you can eat, finding out what you can't eat is the answer!
That might sound daft or a bit too illogical, any meat will do for a meal, or cheese, or eggs, however you like them! There are lots of low carb foods that are tasty and good for you. Think positively about your next meal, plan ahead, buy what you can afford, My money was tight initially, when faced with dietary needs and changes.
Low carb can be cheaper, two reasons why, your plate size will change and your appetite will be a lot less.
There is a lot of ideas and recipes you can try!
 
Brunneria said:
Click on the Dietdoctor link in my signature and have a look around the website. Lots of information, menus and ideas.
Click to expand...
Thanks, but none of what i'm seeing there is remotely affordable or practical. They contain really obscure and, by the looks of things, expensive exotic ingredients. Psylium powder? I've never even heard of that. Smoked salmon for breakfast? Completely unaffordable.

This is what I meant earlier when I spoke about recipes. I need stuff that is practical and healthy. This I'm afraid isn't, at all.
 
Well, you can buy smoked salmon here,
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=250926075
for £2.50 - and that would be enough for 4 breakfasts, for me.
Add in a couple of free range eggs,
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=250802613
at 89 pence a half dozen, a dab of butter, and a splash of milk or cream, and i calculate each of those 4 breakfasts would cost about £1.30 ish.

Plus, of course, i wouldn't get hungry for hours.

Every way of eating can be exactly as expensive, or as economical as you choose - but it is important to remember that good health is utterly priceless!
 
oh, and you can find psyllium husks with a quick google search (holland and barratt are top of the resulting list).

I usually get mine from Amazon, delivered with no P&P charge.
 
Brunneria said:
oh, and you can find psyllium husks with a quick google search (holland and barratt are top of the resulting list).

I usually get mine from Amazon, delivered with no P&P charge.
Click to expand...
Are you eating meat, cheese, any fish above ground vegetables now?
If so just continue and omit bread, rice potatoes. Add a bit of butter or olive oil and that's it. No need to buy psyllium husks.
ghost_whistler said:
Are there any good lists of meals for a low carb diet. I don't think i can get away with sausages for breakfast every day (and not the decent kind either, they aren't cheap unfortunately).
Click to expand...
Are you eating meat, cheese, any fish above ground vegetables now?
If so just continue and omit bread, rice potatoes. Add a bit of butter or olive oil and that's it. No need to buy psyllium husks.
 
@ghost_whistler

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the basic information we give to new members, as mentioned above, and I hope this will be useful to you.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 220,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
Psyllium husks - a little goes a long way. You only need a tablespoon or so per recipe. I make seed crackers a lot and use the psyllium husks in those. The seed crackers themselves are very satisfying.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…