Occurring as a result of an imbalance in body chemistry, low blood sugar is experienced when the body's glucose is used up too rapidly, or is released too slowly into the bloodstream. Low blood sugar is also experienced when the pancreas releases too much insulin into the bloodstream, which in turn reduces glucose levels in the blood. The medical term used to describe low blood sugar is hypoglycemia.
Identifying Low Blood Sugar
A patient may be diagnosed as hypoglycemic when his blood sugar level drops lower than 45 mg. of glucose per deciliter of blood. In addition, a patient may also be diagnosed as having low blood sugar by monitoring how quickly her blood sugar spikes and plummets after drinking a sugary solution administered by a physician.
Symptoms
Key symptoms of low blood sugar include experiencing weakness or shakiness, and feeling confused or unable to think rationally. Often, these symptoms can be alleviated simply by eating food.
Having low blood sugar can also cause myriad other symptoms such as headaches or fatigue, internal trembling, chronically cold hands and feet, and blurred vision.
Other unusual symptoms include being accident-prone, feeling crawling sensations on the skin, and being sensitive to light and noise.
Causes
Hypoglycemia may occur when a diabetic forgets to take her medicine or has not eaten enough food. However, there is another type of hypoglycemia called idiopathic hypoglycemia that has causes that are often harder to pin down. This type of hypoglycemia is experienced when a patient has an underlying illness or condition other than diabetes that causes him to experience symptoms of low blood sugar. There are many conditions that can cause this, including liver disease and tumor of the pancreas.
There are other situations that may cause an otherwise healthy individual to experience idiopathic hypoglycemia. These include, but are not limited to, drinking alcohol, prolonged fasting and long periods of strenuous exercise.
Risk Factors
Affecting one out of every 1,000 people, hypoglycemia is commonly experienced in people with diabetes. It may also be experienced by women who are in the early stages of pregnancy. The risk of contacting hypoglycemia is not specific to any particular age, race or gender.
Food Choices
To keep blood sugar at moderate levels, eating foods such as organic meats, vegetables and fruits, high-quality proteins, and fresh fruits and vegetables is recommended.
Because consuming table sugar will cause blood sugar to quickly spike and then crash down, using a natural artificial sweetener such as Stevia is recommended in the place of sugar.
In addition to sugary snacks, fried or processed foods, hot dogs, sausages and deli meats should also be avoided.
Tags: blood sugar, experienced when, also experienced, blood sugar also, idiopathic hypoglycemia