A low blood sugar diet can help regulate glucose levels in diabetics and those with prediabetes. It may involve high fiber and low glycemic index foods, or an exchange diet. Those with low blood sugar may need to eat carbohydrates to raise their levels.
A low blood sugar diet is a nutritional plan designed to achieve a normal blood sugar level, either instead of or in combination with medications designed for the same purpose. Diabetics and people with prediabetes often have to stick to a strict low blood sugar diet, although such eating plans can also provide health benefits to people without these conditions. Such a diet may be designed to lower blood sugar, to prevent blood sugar spikes, or to work in concert with medications or other treatments prescribed by a medical professional. Certain people may already have too low blood sugar and may benefit from a different type of diet.
The term blood sugar refers to the amount of sugar, or glucose, present in the blood. In general, a healthy human body can regulate the amount of glucose in the blood, although diseases such as diabetes or certain stresses and traumas can negatively affect this ability. People with diabetes or prediabetes may need to take nutritional steps to lower blood sugar, as their bodies cannot do this naturally. There are different schools of thought regarding the proper low blood sugar diet for those suffering from diabetes, although most involve a high fiber intake and a focus on low glycemic index (GI) foods.
Low GI foods generally have a minimal effect on blood glucose levels, making them well suited for low blood sugar diets. Foods like fruits and whole grains may not cause the same type of spike in blood glucose levels as refined sugars, grains, and starches. Proponents of a low GI approach to low blood sugar diets suggest that controlling blood glucose levels in this way may aid in diabetes management.
Other experts suggest that an exchange diet is a better way to control blood sugar. This type of diet could, for example, involve eating more sugar in one course or meal after eating less starch in a previous one. Different proponents may argue in favor of the ideas of strictly timing meals or eating a vegan diet, while others define different levels of carbohydrate intake as ideal. In either case, it may be necessary to supplement any low blood sugar diet with insulin or other medications.
Those who suffer from low blood sugar usually need to take a completely different approach. Low blood sugar or hypoglycemia may be a complication of diabetes or an unrelated condition. The same types of principles involved in a low blood sugar diet can be used for such people, although they will work to achieve the opposite effect. In cases where blood sugar is dangerously low, it is possible to eat 10 to 20 grams of carbohydrates and quickly normalize blood sugar.
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