Reactive Hypoglycemia Diet Help

I totally agree with you. I always keep some nuts in my purse, in my car and at work. I have found peanut butter or hard boiled egg or hummus are quick fixes ("whipped" peanut butter goes down easiest). I take Chromium Picolinate (inexpensive and avail wherever supplements are found) help me as well as speed my metabolism and give me a little energy without the jitters.

Valcraig2: I have severe reactive hypoglycemia. I am extremely insulin sensitive.

First off, skip the specific diets. Just eat in moderation and plan to eat roughly 1300-1400 calories a day. If you are exercising however, you may need more calories. So more detail would be great.

Meal prepping is going to be a necessity for you and your husband especially due to his RH. The food needs to be ready because when your sugar is low, you are going to grab anything in sight. Pick a day (probably the weekend) where you will prepare food for an entire week. Then measure out serving sizes and package away in containers. I hope you have lunch boxes and ice packs to keep food cold.

The first mistake your husband is making is eating candy when he is crashing. Don't worry, LOTS of people with RH make this mistake because they want what's going to make them feel better the fastest, which is candy, soda, juice, etc. That's the worst thing you can do though because what's going to happen is a roller coaster effect… up down up down up down. He's going to crash, he's going to eat candy, he's going to spike, and then he's going to crash again. HOWEVER if he is EXTREMELY low, like in the 30s or 40s, he does need to drink 1 cup of juice. Then eat a mixed meal (carb, protein, fat). If he is in the 50s, 60s, or 70s, a spoonful or two of peanut butter will hold him over until he can eat a mixed meal.

Your husband should not go more than 2-3 hours without eating. This is very important. Some days he may have to eat within an hour. It all depends on his blood sugar.

He needs to eliminate refined carbs (cookies, cakes, cupcakes, muffins, pastas, white bread). Instead he should be eating complex carbs: sweet potatoes, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta, brown rice, etc. However, when he eats complex carbs, he MUST eat protein with it. At least 15 grams preferably. Your husband should not consume more than 45 g of carbs per meal. My dietician told me 30-45 g carbs per meal. At snacks, he should consume between 15-30 g carbs.

Fiber also helps slow down your blood sugar from crashing. Keep lots of veggies in the house and have them pre-cut. Cucumber sticks, celery sticks, carrot sticks, red/orange/yellow pepper sticks, etc. If he doesn't like veggies alone, make a dip from plain greek yogurt mixed with Hidden valley ranch seasoning powder. It's way better than pre made dressings.

Protein needs to be eaten at every meal.

By the way, is your husband on medication for RH? I take Metformin and it helps me.

I also have reactive hypoglycemia. I have battled with it for about 3 years then finally saw a Dr. Now that I know what is wrong with me I can control it better. I agree that eating candy to raise blood sugar isn't good but sometimes it's all you have. I used to crave crackers or chips when mine would plummet. Now I take Metfomin and follow the South Beach diet. All the tips on this blog are great! This has been the best information I've had so far. My doctor didn't even tell me that my condition had a name! Thanks to everyone for all the help. :-)

Hi all, my mum and I both suffer with low blood sugar possibly I feel reactive hypoglycemia, and reading all this has been brilliant. For my mum and I we're both stuck in a complex carbs rut and I'm personally so fussy about foods which I hate, so if anyone one has any simple breakfast and lunch meal ideas I would be very grateful and add me as a friend to help keep me on track x

You need a glucometer to monitor and I recommend getting one soon if you can. Try to get insurance to pay for it. Strips are a fortune (for me at least). Keep a log. I started logging in the notes section here, but I just got a Telcare app. I log all my numbers and just the carbs there, but my food and exercise here. Lots of time planning foods, logging blood sugars and food, but its a necessary evil. Good luck!!

Get on websites that support Low-carb-high-fat, and / or ketosis diets. There is lots of help and recipes there. Sugar and carbs are poison. It is the Department of AGRICULTURE that promotes the Food Pyramid with 11 servings of bread and starch each da. The American Diabetes Association is funded by the insulin manufacturers. The Heart Association is funded by the Stating manufacturers. They don't want us healthy, they want us sick and buying their grains and medicines. The only animals that wer designed to live on a grain-based diet are birds. We were designed to live on meat, fat, and leafy greens vegetables. Forget fruit: it's just like candy. Forget milk: even "low fat" is still FULL of sugar. Your health, energy and brain function will improve dramatically when you get the carbs and insulin out of your system. You will stop falling asleep after every meal.

Fellow RH'er here. I would strongly suggest people here understand the biology behind reactive hypoglycemia. I struggled with it for years and had gotten dr bernstein's diabetes book(in 2003 from the US). The message was radical but it was essentially a low carb diet. It wasn't until I increased my protein intake in 2010 onwards that I started feeling productive.

What works for me now is keto diet but even a low carb diet at 50-70 gms of carbs per day should work. The key? LCHF. Your fat intake should be 65-80 %, protein 5-15 % and carbs for the rest(most of these can come from veggies)

Was prescribed acarbose for my RH and it does work but liberal servings of fat works even better.

Hello all! I have been on here for a while and have lost a decent amount of weight...however I feel like I am not taking care of myself. You see, I have reactive hypoglycemia, and I struggle daily with the crashes of blood sugar. I was wondering if anyone else on here who has this condition would be willing to give me examples of their daily food intakes and maybe add me as a friend so that I can really work harder on taking care of myself. This site isn't just about losing weight. It's about being healthy. I think one of my greatest struggles with this is that I am a working mother to a very vibrant/energetic girl and my husbands works...ALOT... so it leaves a lot on me to do. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi, I also struggle with low blood sugar and I find that eating a breakfast with a lot of protein like two or three eggs and avoid simple carbs like oatmeal or cereals or white bread, also coffee avoid it, my blood sugar is more stable thru the day. I carry raisins, hard candiez, and juice pouches in my purse when i am running late on having my next meal, and make sure you have complex carbs at dinner to keep your sugar in a good range.

hi i was recently reading this board and wondering what meds they have you on for hypoglycemia? has it helped with insatiable hunger and cravings? weight loss? Im struggling and feel like mine has just gotten worse and will continue to get worse if i dont do something about it.