Corvidae and Avlev,

Type 1 diabetics get this because they have to inject insulin and then eat accordingly - if they don't eat enough, the insulin packs away the blood sugar they needed to run on, so they 'crash' - low blood sugar, feeling weak and wobbly. As you rightly say Corvidae, eating sugar sorts this out.

Type 2 diabetics get this more rarely, since they don't inject insulin - their problem is more of insulin resistance, so they suffer more from high blood sugar than low.

The low blood sugar insulin reaction doesn't happen in non-diabetics because 'ordinary' people release insulin in appropriate amounts for the carbs they've eaten - so not knocking blood sugar levels lower than is reasonable.

Folk who have become insulin resistant release too much insulin but their bodies don't respond properly - they are more likely to suffer from high blood sugar (which can make you feel headachy and lethargic, similar to having eaten a huge meal) than low.

The fatigue you feel when you haven't eaten enough carbs is simply that your body needs some to run on - and you aren't giving it the right fuel. Though we can run on fats by and large, there are limits. Exercise exacerbates this, particularly intense exercise, since you can only burn fat so fast. Any faster energy requirements need carbs.

Izzy,

folk take a hundred and one supplements but the ones I have come to find essential are:
a good mulitvitamin
potassium (400mg in the early months, 200 thereafter)

some people seem to be better with added magnesium too - and I take a combined magnesium/calcium cos I restrict my dairy intake and don't want crumbly bones.

After that, I think its what works for you.

Hope this helps, like you Corvidae, we've got lots of diabetics, hypoglycaemics (incl. me) and insulin resistants (incl. me) in the family, so you become quite 'in the know' about it all.

Jay