Hi. I just found this site by total accident. I love it. Thank you to all who are here to help.

I have been recently diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia. Currently I have been following somersizing - food combining.

My question is this - is food combining the way to go when one has reactive hypoglycemia. I was gave a way of eating from my doc that was basically very very low carb and high protein and he said to find a low carb woe that fits my life. Well, i am doing reasearch now and discovered that you are not to food combine when reactive hypo. I am confused as to what plan is right for me.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks alot.

Hi princess65,

I am not sure what you mean when you say that you're "reactive hypoglycemic" ... nor exactly what you mean by "food combining".

My mother was diagnosed with hypoglycemia in the 1960's ... long before the medical profession generally even recognized the condition. At that time, the ONLY book out on the subject was one called Body, Mind and Sugar. It was, basically, a high protein, low carb diet ... and of course, Mom had to remove sugar entirely.

Even when she "stabilized" and could have more carbs/sugars ... she would generally half any sugar amounts called for in her recipes. So did I ... and it's really startling that when I had to lose weight, I chose Weight Watchers and didn't even THINK of the High Protein alternative. When WW didn't do what I needed it to do [I found I stalled short of my goal and stuck there!] ... I "gave up" and just recently began with high protein/low carbs.

I realize now, after only a little over a week [and down over 6 pounds] that I feel much better and I had become addicted to sugars/carbs.

Now ... is YOUR hypoglycemia the same as my mother's? A result of diet?

Also ... when you say "food combining" are you referring to that plan which says you should eat certain foods together ... and definitely not eat other foods together?

Good luck with your condition!

Mary

Food combining is not a good idea if you have reactive hypoglycemia. Eating carbs alone will set you up for a blood sugar spike and then an insulin spike and a plummetting blood sugar level. Limiting carbs is helpful, but also make sure you eat some fat and protein with your carbs to cut back on the insulin surge. I've been dealing with reactive hypoglycemia since I was a teenager, so let me know if I can help.

Jen

My husband is Reactive Hypo. Most of his life he would fall asleep after eating carbs, any type. I met him 16 yrs ago, and was amazed that he was still alive after crashing so many cars because he fell asleep at the wheel on the 40mi drive home everyday. He kept chocolates at his desk and snacked on them in the afternoon. Just this Feb 2003, It dawned on me what his problem was, RH! He would eat breakfast, ie: bagel, grapefruit, cereal, and milk, and have to take a 1 or 2 hr nap! Same with pasta or any high carb foods, he would feel sleepy, grouchy etc. So, we started the Atkins diet, followed it to the letter! He feels great, no more confusion, no more need to nap all day, and his mood is much better, he's not nearly as cranky as he used to be. Also, his attention span is a lot longer these days, as he used to zone out a lot of the time. I have lost 30 lbs on Atkins/Low carb and we are low carb for life. Its a great way to eat and live. There are tons of low carb products out there. We mostly shop on line at netrition.com. Talk to your doctor about going with the Atkins diet and see what he says. Good Luck

General recommendations for reactive hypoglycemia include: eat smaller meals more frequently, ie .. have 5 or 6 small meals instead of 2 or 3 large meals. Make sure to have some protein at every meal. Avoid ALL sugar and refined starches. Restrict caffeine and alcohol, and if you smoke, please quit.

Atkins or any of the carb-controlled programs would be very helpful, and the above guidelines would fit right in. You might also consider The Schwarzbein Principle ... it's a little higher in carbs, but her program is more about healing the metabolism and getting the blood sugar - inslin swings under control.

Ooops .. just noticed that you have included Schwarzbein in your profile as the diet you're following??? Really read through the book, especially the chapter on Serotonin. Many symptoms of hypoglycemia mimic the symptoms of low serotonin.

Good luck to you

Doreen

Hi. Thank you all for the words of advice. I will take it all in to consideration. I am definitely staying low carb as this seems to keep me at an even keel right now.

I am going to get the Atkins for life book and give that read through. I read schwarzbein 1 and 2 and very interesting.

Now, I guess that i am going to incorporate all that i know and come up with some kind of plan for my body.

Thanks again.

Make sure you read Dr Atkins "The NEW diet revolution first. Then go on to Atkins for Life. They are both enligntening, but first you must undestand how insuln and glucose works in your system. This is the key to HG. Good Luck
Barb

I have hypoglycemia and can't eat fat between meals. I eat 4 LC meals a day with nonfat plain yogurt between (high protein/5carb - 6oz...the best I can do)...is there anything I should know? A good protein powder to buy - oh, must be sugarfree.