Blood sugar and eating right

Alishia6606
Alishia6606 Posts: 140 Member
edited December 3 in Food and Nutrition
All my life I have had issues keeping my blood sugar up. When I was a kid, my mom had me eat a candy bar or drink a soda to bring it up.

Cut to almost 30 years old and still doing bad habits to keep it up, along with the weight that comes with it. I have noticed that when I eat "healthier", my blood sugar drops even lower.

Is there a way to eat healthy and keep my levels up?

Replies

  • Alishia6606
    Alishia6606 Posts: 140 Member
    Just saw another post on this topic. Sorry. :(
  • shovelhd75
    shovelhd75 Posts: 1 Member
    I have the opposite problem and I find the key to controlling blood sugar is tracking carbohydrates. There are many good carbs, such as nuts and whole grains.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    When you eat "healthier", what do you eat?
  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,289 MFP Moderator
    Alishia6606 wrote: »
    Just saw another post on this topic. Sorry. :(

    You're welcome to post your own topic on any issue you want/need to. :)

    I have blood-sugar issues too, and I used to do the same thing you did - grab a candy bar. Since I started taking better care of myself, my blood sugar doesn't drop as drastically or often as it used to. But when I experience an issue, I usually will grab a piece of fruit or yogurt or cottage cheese. Or a granola bar or slice of cheese... really anything helps.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    You have to eat frequently - and enough - to keep your blood sugar up.

    Foods that absorb quickly temporarily raise your blood sugar followed by an insulin response.

    An over eager insulin response will give you a low blood sugar crash.

    Not eating enough, or long fasts, will result in low blood sugar.

    It takes your body longer to process proteins and fats, so you typically do not get highs and lows from them. Get a little of both in every meal.

    Fiber and vinegar slows the absorption of carbs.

    Soups and plain salads are so low in calories that they may not cover your blood sugar needs.

    The conventional advice for T2 diabetics (which works for Hypoglycaemics as well) is to have a combination of macros at every meal, every snack.

    If I were you I would also pack Glucotabs and a protein bar with you at all times to avoid a low.

    Other snacks may be hikers mix, Apple and cheddar, hummus and celery, a yogurt drink, or PB and crackers.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Unless you are a type 1 diabetic there is no need to worry about blood glucose levels falling too low. If you have sympypms pf low blood sugat, chances are that it is a false low and you feel poorly because glucose fell sharply. It ,ost likely isn't actually low.

    I dealt with reactive hypoglycemia for many years. I would get light headed, weak and shake if I hadn't eaten for a couple of hours. I was not actually low though. My BG just fell sharply an hour after eating. I eat a very LCHF diet now and without many carbs i my diet, my BG stays very steady and I rarely get low BG symptoms, even if my BG actually is getting closer to low.

    Eating fewer carbs, slow carbs, and eating fat and and protein with your carbs should help.
  • Alishia6606
    Alishia6606 Posts: 140 Member
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    When you eat "healthier", what do you eat?

    I usually eat more salads and veggies. We eat a lot of chicken and pork and I try to cook it on the broiler pan in the oven so the grease drops off. I eat less fast food (which is a huge change in our house) and no soda. Though there are some days that I don't eat until dinner (bad, I know) but those days are few and far apart.

    I have seen my doctor and he suggested testing levels 3 times every day. They are typically in the low to mid 60s within an hour of eating. I log them but don't have another appointment until the end of September.

    Thank you all for the tips. :) I will get some good stuff to keep with me. :) I don't know why I always forget fruit has sugar.

    What are macros? Sorry I'm a little confused.
  • fallenangel66
    fallenangel66 Posts: 55 Member
    Hi, last night my bloods were 6.0 before bed, but at 3.30am i was up wringing with sweat,shaking and just feeling lousy any ideas on what went wrong ...thanks
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    @fallenangel66 that could be low blood sugar or high blood sugar. Not a good sign. The only way to know is to test your sugar when you feel like that.

    The first aid response is to have a little sugar as low blood sugar will kill you faster.

    If I were you I'd have a chat with a diabetes specialist nurse to troubleshoot this problem. It might mean a small protein based snack at bedtime.
  • tojo_73
    tojo_73 Posts: 213 Member
    @fallenangel66 Can you give a bit of background.
    Are you type 1 or 2?
    What medication and what timing do you take it?
    When do you test for bed and how long after dinner (and insulin)?

    I had this issue (alot) and switched my insulin types and timings around a fair bit to try and deal with it (with input and support from my endocrinologist). Lantus from night to morning worked the best. They say Lantus is flat for 24hrs but it seemed to work more strongly (for me) in the first 8 hrs than the rest of the day.

    Everyone reacts slightly differently but I would say your reaction is low not high. Protein and fibre can slow carbohydrate absorbtion but only carbohydrates provides blood sugar (or it is manufactured in your liver in response to a low which is why the next morning you may have a rebound high blood sugar).

    Going low at night messes me up good! I get massive headaches (what I imagine a migraine is like without light sensitivity) for the full day. Sometime throw-up first thing in the morning and of course soak my sheets with sweat. My night lows are now about once a year and tend to occur when I go to bed within an hour or two of dinner when my Humalog is still working my sugars down.

    If you are type 2 then the mechanism is different and I would suggest looking at the GI of your food before bed. A high GI can trigger a high insulin response boosted by your oral medication (if that is what you are on).
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