Are you looking forward to getting an idea of what to eat if you have diabetes or low blood sugar? If yes, then you need to learn about the hypoglycemia diet plan to be followed. This helps you prevent yourself from the severe consequences of hypoglycemia and is effective for reducing the risk of fatality too.
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What Is A Hypoglycemia Diet?
It happens quite a lot of times that we stay busy with our chores and forget to take out time for our meals. We might have a preconception that it does not affect us, but it does. The body starts feeling shaky, anxious, light-headed, and dependent. All these after-effects are nothing but the initial symptoms of hypoglycemia. More importantly, we need to keep an eye on our physical well-being. There might be some indications that the blood sugar level is falling constantly.
The first move after knowing that the body is not exhibiting good symptoms is to check the blood sugar level. If it is found considerably low, you can opt to have a sugary meal. However, focusing on the medicines should be taken into consideration.
Important Points On A Hypoglycemia Diet
The optimum energy level of the human body is dependent on the quantity of glucose present in the body. The normal range of blood sugar level in a human body ranges from 70 mg/dl to 99mg/dl, in the case of blood sugar fasting. if you check your blood sugar levels every 2-3 hours after frequent meals, the sugar level may be noted down up to 140 mg/dl.
If you feel that your blood sugar level is going down, you can take a quick meal containing carbohydrates that can balance your low blood sugar level and raise it again. You will feel better once you help yourself get your sugar levels back.
Hypoglycemia is most commonly found in people with diabetes. It can turn out to be very dangerous to those who do not take medicines on time. For the people who are not diabetic, hypoglycemia can be a reason for various other medical concerns like blurred vision, anxiety, and confusion walk hand in hand, and there is a lack of consciousness too.
If you want to get your blood sugar level back on track in the least time, then you need to look ahead for the below-given fixes.
Ways To Optimize Hypoglycemia Diet
Whenever you feel the fluctuations in your blood sugar level, it becomes really important to get yourself the most appropriate food items so that the blood regulates at a normal pace again. Here are some food items that will assist you in regulating blood sugar levels. Refer to the amounts in which all these food items have to be taken carefully:
- Fruits like an apple, a banana, or an orange
- Grapes, preferably 15 in number
- A few prunes
- Raisins, 2 tablespoons probably
- Granola (half cup is recommended)
- Half of a bagel
All the food items that have been mentioned above contain optimum amounts of carbs to stabilize the balance of blood sugar levels. The optimum amount of carbohydrates required to re-establish blood sugar is 15 grams.
Now, there are two cases where a separate hypoglycemia diet chart is followed by the people. The two cases are Diabetic and non-diabetic people.
Hypoglycemia Diet For Diabetic People
You will be responsible for not taking enough food after the heavy doses of medication and physical exercises. The consequences can take you to the hospital too.
Here you can follow a 15-15 rule to make up a hypoglycemia diet chart. In this method, take 15grams of carbohydrates in liquid or solid form. Wait for 15 minutes and monitor your blood sugar level again. If you find that it is still 70 mg/dl, then take another serving of 15 grams of carbohydrates and check your blood sugar levels again.
Repeat this process of taking 15 grams of carbs again and again after intervals of 15 minutes until the blood sugar level goes up to at least 70 mg/dl.
The next thing that you would like to know is the food items that contain 15 grams of carbohydrates to cater to your needs.
List of Things Containing 15 Grams Carbs
Here is the list of food items that are positioned according to provide you 15 grams of carbohydrates:
- One tablespoon of sugary items like sugar, honey, or jaggery.
- Half a cup of juice or regular soda
- Read the label of candies available in the market and eat accordingly to make it up to 15 grams.
- Tablets of Glucose or Glucon-D.
It is advised not to overeat these food items in case of low blood sugar levels. Fluctuations are unpredictable and there are chances that the blood sugar levels might increase within no time.
Hypoglycemia Diet For Non-Diabetic People
Blood sugar may get affected when people do not eat for long hours. The body requires energy to function properly. The main source of energy in the human body is sugar/glucose. The blood sugar may fall drastically if you do not eat for long hours. This happens most of the time when you fast.
This situation is termed reactive hypoglycemia and the affected person might need assistance from the doctor too. It may also happen when you eat a lot of food items like pasta, pizzas, etc. altogether as they release insulin in bigger amounts. Our body is not immuned enough to deal with this large amount of insulin at once. They need to set up their hypoglycemia diet chart. A healthy diet chart can do wonders to get you out of the situation.
Dietary Tips
Use the dietary tips mentioned below, to avoid your blood sugar level from going down drastically causing you intense pain and pressure.
Follow Healthy Eating Habits
Include all the nutritional values like proteins, carbohydrates, calcium, vitamin. minerals, etc. We can get it from various food items like fruits, vegetables, milk, and many more. If you are adding sugar to your diet, make sure that you add it in optimum amounts. Adding protein to your food items in justified amounts will give you lasting energy. This is how you can plan your meals keeping in mind the norms of a balanced diet.
Divide Your Meals Throughout The Day
Make sure you divide your meals throughout the day into fixed intervals of 3-4 hours. This will help you maintain your energy levels throughout the day. If you working, then you must plan your meals in such a way that you never feel exhausted. Have milk with a heavy breakfast at nearly 9 am.
Then have your lunch at nearly 1 pm or 1:30 pm. Adjust a supper meal between 4 pm and 5 pm. Take a light dinner near 8:30 pm. Sleep early at night and give your body some space to extract energy from the food that you have eaten. This is how you can easily divide your meal for the whole day keeping in mind all the norms of a hypoglycemic diet. Make sure you keep your meals light to avoid other issues like obesity.
Limit or Avoid Caffeine
People are habitual of taking tea or coffee 4-5 times a day. This is an inappropriate manner of feeding your body with caffeine. Caffeine acts as a drug that becomes so addictive at times that it becomes difficult to wake up without a cup of tea or coffee in the morning.
To curb your health issues, you can replace it with a glass of juice. A glass of juice or lukewarm water keeps you refreshed all day long. Another alternative to tea or coffee is to have milk, healthy and protein-giving.
Avoid Taking Alcohol Frequently
Alcohol is another drug that can cause disturbances to your hypoglycemic diet. People who take it occasionally accompanied with some snacks hardly inherit any negative impact of it on their blood sugar level.
But, if you are taking it solely, without any snacks, then it is imperative for you to know about its harmful effects like inflammation and damage of the liver, physical and emotional dependency on alcohol, irregulated insulin levels in the blood, and many more.
So, now when you know about the things that can put a positive or negative impact on the disturbance caused in your hypoglycemic diet, you must take care of eating you eat in a day. try keeping a track record of the nutritional values that you are serving to your body.
Even if you are not having diabetes, not eating for long hours can bring fluctuations in blood sugar levels. The disturbing symptoms caused to low energy levels, an empty stomach, or fluctuations in sugar level, can imitate those of hypoglycemia. However, you can save yourself from getting positioned in the worst situation.
Consult a doctor when you experience even a single symptom due to the disturbance in the hypoglycemia diet. Get the amendments done in the diet chart and take your medicines on time. This is the only way out. After all, it is your body and you have to protect it from all the diseases, anyhow.
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