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The first step toward the natural treatment of hypoglycemia rests in your diet.  And the very first change that needs to be made is the elimination of sugar . . . as well as foods made from sugar.

Great, you say.  I don’t use that much sugar anyway.  But wait.  We’re not just talking about the teaspoon or so you put in your morning coffee or tea.  We’re talking about the nearly ubiquitous amounts of sugar that are found everywhere – and we mean everywhere.

When you eliminate sugar that means you eat no cake, candy, cookies, ice cream, sweetened cereal, canned fruit and frozen desserts, just for starters.  Then you need to become even more of a savvy shopper, because you have to scour the labels at the grocery store to mine the hidden sugar from the processed and packaged foods.  In fact, it’s a great idea to avoid both the processed and packaged foodstuffs as much as possible – just for that reason!

It’s recommended that you eliminate the use of all artificial sweeteners from your diet too.

You’ll also need to stay away as much as possible from instant rice and instant potatoes, as well as white flour, soft drinks and alcohol.

Instead, the bulk of your diet should come from complex carbohydrates and fiber.  Both of these categories help to stabilize the blood sugar levels.  The goal is to eat the most natural, least processed forms of food possible.  With our hectic lifestyles this is a tall order, but the closer you can get to this goal, the less you’ll have to deal with the symptoms of hypoglycemia.

Another way to reduce chances of experiencing low blood sugar is to eat your meals at regular times.  Don’t skip meals and don’t eat late.  Be sure that you include some protein at both your lunch and your dinner.

Limiting – or better yet – eliminating alcohol intake will help alleviate the symptoms to this problem immensely.  Additionally, medical experts suggest that quitting smoking will also help.

Try to drink only one cup of caffeinated tea or coffee daily.  The same goes for soft drinks that have caffeine.  A hidden source of caffeine you’ll want to watch out for is over the counter drugs.  Some headache tablets especially include caffeine as an active ingredient.

And while you’re contemplating those changes in diet, think about adding some exercise to your daily routine as well.  Exercise is an important tool in the management for hypoglycemia.  It’s a great metabolic booster.  Your body benefits through an increase in insulin sensitivity as well as lowering your insulin needs.  In fact, initiating a weight control program is one of the best things you can do to improve your overall health.

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In addition to diet and exercise, you may want to consider using any of several herbal supplements to help lower your blood sugar levels.  Many individuals find that by using these natural supplements or herbal teas, their hypoglycemia is more easily controlled.  And the added bonus is that many individuals report increased stamina, energy and a better outlook on life.

One of the most effective herbs is one you probably already use, perhaps on a daily basis, for your cooking.  It’s garlic and it’s already recognized as an effective, natural way to lower blood pressure. It’s also a super supplement for naturally increasing your blood sugar levels.

Licorice is another good herb for those with hypoglycemia.  According to professional herbalists, licorice has been known to strengthen the adrenal glands.

Another marvelous herb to help alleviate your symptoms of low blood sugar is sarsaparilla.  This plant contains cortin, one of the hormones secreted by the adrenal glands. If cortin is not created in sufficient amounts, the body easily gets ill and develops a nervous depression and general weakness. Many diseases, including the disorder hypoglycemia, are related to adrenal weakness and exhaustion.

You may also want to start drinking blueberry tea.  Individuals with hypoglycemia have reported immense benefits from this herbal brew.  Dandelion is another herb that individuals report have helped them with low blood sugar.  Usually thought of as only a nuisance and a weed in the United States, it really is amazingly effective in improving the functions of the pancreas. Professional herbalists recommend using the root of this yellow flower in tea and drink it two to three times a day.  Drunk in conjunction with a healthy diet, you’ll notice an improvement in your hypoglycemia.

Try a china seed smoothie to help give you energy as well as strength for several hours at a stretch.  Blend the following with one-quarter to one-half cup of china seed: a cup of milk, a cup of juice of your choice and two bananas.  You should keep these in the blender until the ingredients are smooth.  Let it sit for several minutes and blend again.  You’ll be amazed at the increased energy you’ll receive after drinking it.

You might also want to try juniper. This herb is also a great strengthener of the adrenal glands and the pancreas.  Some professional herbalists recommending using this herb along with hawthorn berries to provide an even quicker alleviation of the symptoms.

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Treating hypoglycemia involves attacking the disorder on two levels.  First, your health care practitioner needs to attend to eliminating the initial symptoms in order to bring your body under control.  Then, he’ll treat the underlying condition which causes the problem.

the first part of the treatment rests on the type of symptoms you’re displaying.  Alleviating your symptoms may be as simple as taking glucose tablets or eating foods or even a little candy in order to raise your blood sugar level.   If your symptoms are severe, however,  and your ability to take sugar by the mouth is impaired, he may be forced to administer glucose intravenously or through an injection of glucagons.

Hypoglycemia, as we have seen, has a potential myriad of causes.  Because of this, indentifying the underlying condition and preventing recurrent episodes as not a simple process.  If he has eliminated other factors, your health care practitioner may search for a tumor in your pancreas or other area of your body which is causing this disruption.  If that’s the case, you may have to undergo surgery.

If on the other hand, the hypoglycemia is caused by the medications you’re taking, then he’ll work closely with you to help change your prescriptions.

The key to effectively controlling this problem is for you to be extremely aware of any changes in the way your body is acting.  You also need to be alert to any alterations in the way you’re feeling.  You need to pay attention to such symptoms that especially deal with the mind – disorientation, the inability to complete normal everyday tasks.  The moment you notice these symptoms, you need to begin to elevate your blood sugar level.

Ignoring these telltale signs can be dangerous, as the most severe forms of hypoglycemia eventually take the forms of seizures and unconsciousness.

And it’s not as difficult as you may think.   A serving of hard candy equal to approximately five Life Savers can be effective, according to the medical experts at the Mayo Clinic. 

If hard candy is not available drink either a soft drink – but not the diet version – or four ounces of orange juice.  If you’re at home when these symptoms first occur or in a restaurant with sugar packets at the table, you can consume two large teaspoons of sugar to help alleviate the symptoms and prevent them from progressing.

There’s also a glucose gel you can take.  This is a form of sugar that you can buy at the pharmacy without a prescription that your system can rapidly absorb and use.  This is especially effective on the early symptoms.

You may also take glucose tablets when you feel those symptoms initially coming on.  These are also a non-prescription form of sugar that’s created specifically for this purpose.  It’s readily available at your pharmacy.

You’ll obviously want to alert your friends and family to your condition, so should you exhibit severe symptoms of this disorder, they can help should you be unconscious or, in some cases, unwilling to cooperate.  Remember to let your co-workers and any immediate supervisors at work know of this problem as well. If you carry glucose gel with you, inform these people that should you lose consciousness, that they should place some of this gel under your tongue.  And make sure they know where you keep the gel.

If you’re one of the individuals who suffers from Type I diabetes, consider instructing someone close to you how to inject you with glucagon.  This is a hormone that stimulates the release of glucose from your liver while at the same time inhibiting the release of insulin.  Ask your health care practitioner is this is an option for you.  This is available only through prescription.

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While diabetes is the major cause of hypoglycemia, there are other situations in which a person may develop this disorder. 

Those individuals who consume large amounts of alcohol and eat very little are prone to experiencing hypoglycemia. Alcohol is known to block the process of glucose production which depletes your body’s stores of glycogen.

Insulin and other medications used to control diabetes often cause hypoglycemia.  If you accidentally take someone else’s’ oral diabetes medication, you may experience this.

Additionally, drugs used to treat people with kidney failure my prompt this condition of low blood sugar.  Quinine, most commonly used to treat malaria and leg cramps may also have this effect on some people.

There are several illnesses which may cause your body to experience hypoglycemia. Severe diseases of the liver, for example, drug-induced hepatitis, is one of them, as is anorexia nervosa, the condition where individuals basically starve themselves because they constantly view themselves as overweight.  Kidney failure is another serious health problem which may produce the symptoms of hypoglycemia.

If your body produces an excess of blood insulin, you may experience hypoglycemia.  This is a rare health condition created by the beta cells of your pancreas, which releases the insulin.  This could occur if you had a beta cell tumor, known as insulinoma.

Other cancers that may affect your glucose level include non-beta-cell tumors, which may not necessarily cause an overproduction of insulin.  Instead, they produce an excessive use of glucose by the tumor itself.  Or it may result in a glut of insulin-like substances.   Elevated levels of these will produce hypoglycemia as well.

How do you know if you’re experiencing the symptoms of hypoglycemia? You’ll know it; first, because of the effects it produces on your brain.  If you’re feeling confused, or if you are acting abnormally, you may consider hypoglycemia as the culprit.  These are two of the signs.  The inability to complete routine tasks is another indication of the disorder. Those with hypoglycemia also complain of disturbances in their vision, which may manifest as blurred vision or seeing double.

Two uncommon complaints of hypoglycemia are seizures and loss of consciousness.

Physically, hypoglycemia can produce such symptoms as heart palpitations, hunger, tremors, sweating and a generalized, unexplained anxiety.

You’ll notice that most of these symptoms aren’t exclusively linked to hypoglycemia.  Many of them are associated with other diseases as well.  The only way to know for sure if hypoglycemia is the cause of your problems is through a blood sugar level test.

If your health care practitioner suspects that your symptoms may be due to hypoglycemia, she’ll want to perform a Whipple’s triad.  This test is named after the American surgeon, Allen Whipple, who first developed it.

Your health care practitioner will ask you to fast overnight, after which your system should be exhibiting the hypoglycemic symptoms. You may either fast at home, or be admitted into the hospital overnight for this. If your symptoms occur right after you eat, she’ll want to test you following a meal.

During the time you’re displaying the symptoms, she’ll draw a sample of blood for laboratory analysis.  The third part of the triad, then, is the diagnostic phase. She’ll monitor you to see if the symptoms disappear once the blood glucose levels go back to normal.

In addition to this, your health care practitioner will probably also give you a physical examination and review your medical history.  During this time, she’ll ask you if you’re on any medications, your alcohol use and other pertinent details related to the displaying of hypoglycemic signs.

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Glucose.  Despite all the warnings of sugar overload, glucose is a form of sugar that the human body needs.  And it needs a steady supply of it.  Glucose is your body’s main source of energy. Your body can’t manufacture this and it can’t store it.  So it’s dependent on you to feed it what it needs.

When your body is abnormally low on glucose then a condition called hypoglycemia develops. Hypoglycemia is not a disease; it’s an indicator of a more serious health problem. Most commonly, this health condition is associated with diabetes.  But, other problems can also prompt it.

If you don’t have diabetes, some of the reasons why you may be experiencing hypoglycemia include the use of certain medications or alcohol as well as having some kinds of cancer.  Diseases associated with the kidneys, liver or heart failure can also prompt the symptoms of hypoglycemia.  Another reason for experiencing this problem could also stem from a deficiency of hormones. 

Moreover, if you have a disorder which results in your body producing an abundance of insulin, you could be prone to hypoglycemia.  Insulin is the hormone that your pancreas secretes which regulates you level of blood sugar.

Sugar is one of the major fuels for the body.  The only two ways you system can acquire it only through the consumption of simple sugars or complex carbohydrates.  During the digestive process, your body takes the carbohydrates from foods like bread, pizza, rice pasta, fruit and milk products as well as fruits and vegetables.

Glucose is one of theses sugar molecules which get broken down.  It’s then absorbed directly into your bloodstream following your meal.  It cannot, however, penetrate the cells of most of your tissues without the aid of insulin.

If your pancreas produces and, in turn, releases too much insulin into your blood stream, you suffer from a health condition called hyperinsulinema.  Again, like low blood sugar, it’s not a disease in and of itself, but it’s an indicator of an underlying health problem.  When your pancreas releases too much insulin, even more glucose enters your cells.  You liver is unable to get rid of the glucose in your blood stream.  The result is low blood sugar.

If you don’t have diabetes, the normal fasting blood sugar level is between 70 and 100 mg per deciliter.  Blood sugar level is considered low in a person who doesn’t have diabetes when it dips to 50 mg per deciliter or below.

However, you need to be aware that insulin isn’t the sole factor in the complex process of blood sugar maintenance.  Following a meal, for example, insulin levels are elevated.  Your liver accepts the extra sugar and stores it in the form of glycogen.  When the insulin levels dip between meals, you liver then breaks down the glycogen into glucose. 

Your body additionally has the ability to manufacture glucose through a process known as gluconeogenesis.  While it occurs primarily in your liver, your kidneys also aid the creation.

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