What can I do to feel better?
Changing your Diet
There are many different recommendations for hypoglycemia diets. Some gurus advocate low carbohydrate diets with lots of protein, while others seem to be advocating the exact opposite—a high carbohydrate, low protein diet. In spite of these large differences, the basics of the hypoglycemia diet are all the same. And the first step is to eliminate sugar.
Avoid Sugar
Sounds difficult, but paradoxically, once you stop eating sugar, the sugar cravings begin to lessen and the sugary snacks and desserts just look less attractive. Taste is learned, and after a couple of weeks without sugar, you will probably find that sweet foods you once liked now taste too sweet, and you no longer enjoy them as much. This is a big bonus, because it makes sticking to the new regimen much easier.
It’s not enough, though, to forgo desserts. Most processed foods contain sugar. Mayonnaise, peanut butter, granola or snack bars, canned fruit and fruit drinks often contain sugar—in some cases a lot of sugar—and these should be avoided as well. When you start checking labels, you may be surprised to see how much sugar you have been eating every day.
What is a good indication of whether or not you should eat it? Ask yourself "Does this taste sweet?" If the answer is "Yes", you should probably avoid eating it or eat it only sparingly. This includes sweet fruit like bananas and watermelon.
Dr. Ross, in Hypoglycemia, recommends avoiding everything sweet tasting. His logic is that, to remove all craving for sugar, we should avoid all things sweet. He even suggests avoiding sweet fruit such as apples and raisins for at least the first month or two of your new diet. It is best not to switch to sugar subsitutes like aspartame. It is much easier to maintain a sugar free diet if the taste for sugar is gone. In addition, some studies show that release of insulin can occur even with just a sweet taste.
Whether or not you are hypoglycemic, cutting sugar out of your diet will probably be a positive change. The point of removing sugar is to slow your body’s response to food, so that your blood sugar stays more constant. Most hypoglycemics report that they feel much better if they reduce their sugar intake to zero.