Hypoglycemia – What is it, Causes and Treatments!

Hypoglycemia is different from hyperglycemia, which occurs when you have too much sugar in your bloodstream. Hypoglycemia can occur in people with diabetes if the body produces too much insulin. Insulin is a hormone that breaks down sugar so you can use it for energy. You can also get Hypoglycemia if you have diabetes and take too much insulin .

If you don’t have diabetes , hypoglycemia can occur if your body is unable to stabilize your blood sugar levels. It can also happen after meals if your body produces too much insulin . Hypoglycemia in people who do not have diabetes is less common than hypoglycemia that occurs in people with diabetes or related conditions.

What is Hypoglycemia? Normal fasting blood glucose levels are between 70 and 110 mg of glucose per deciliter (equivalent to 100 ml) of blood. Levels above 110 can characterize a state of diabetes , insulin resistance, among other disorders, and a frame below 70 (some experts assume this value as 70 mg/dl) characterizes Hypoglycemia .

Other cases can still be considered Hypoglycemia even above 70 mg/dl, especially when sugar levels are very high and begin to decline very quickly. Therefore, Hypoglycemia is nothing more than the drop in blood concentration to levels below those considered normal for human beings.

This value and the concentrations at which symptoms begin to manifest may vary from person to person, but not too much in relation to these standard values.

Main causes of hypoglycemia are:

• Going more than 3 hours without eating anything;
• Increased physical activity;
• Consumption of alcoholic beverages on an empty stomach ;
• Use of hypoglycemic drugs such as Aspirin , Biguanidine and Metformin, for example;
• Not taking insulin at the correct dose or time;
• Change in insulin dose site ;
• Due to insufficiency of hormones that causes hypoglycemia without symptoms.
• Diabetics who need to take insulin or other oral hypoglycemic agents before dinner may suffer from nocturnal hypoglycemia , which is silent and affects about 70% of patients with type 1 diabetes .

Medicinal Plants That Can Cause Hypoglycemia, Some Of These Are:

• Saint Cajetan Melon  .
• black pea
• Jambolan  .
• Aloe vera (Aloe vera).
• White mallow (Sida cordifolia L.)
• cinnamon _
• Eucalyptus.
• Ginseng.
• Artemisia.

The consumption of any of these plants during the treatment of type 1 diabetes can cause a lack of glycemic control and therefore, whenever you want a natural treatment against diabetes or whenever you need to drink tea, you should talk to your doctor to prevent sugar levels from rising. in the blood too low.

Hypoglycemia Treatment – ​​Is Hypoglycemia Curable? The disease has no cure, but there is treatment, which the patient can start as soon as the symptoms also start or during a Hypoglycemia crisis , which consists of:

• Consume 15 to 20 grams of carbohydrates, such as 1 tablespoon of sugar dissolved in water or 1 tablespoon of honey (except for children under 1 year), regular, non-diet soda (one 200 ml glass), 1 glass of whole orange juice , etc.
• Check your glucose after 15 minutes. Patients should get into the habit of taking glucose measurements .
• Drinking fruit juices, eating chocolates, candies or 2 tablespoons of sugar diluted in half a glass of water can help with recovery (this method is usually used for faster recovery during a crisis).

Prevention:  When Hypoglycemia is triggered for many hours without eating, the person should eat foods that increase glucose , such as a glass of juice, a piece of chocolate or even a glass of sugar water. For those who have a tendency to fasting hypoglycemia , the correct thing is not to stop eating every 3 hours.

In the case of postprandial or reactive hypoglycemia , replacing foods with high glycemic doses, such as sugars, pasta and cakes, for carbohydrates with a low glycemic load and rich in fiber, which decrease the speed of insulin release in the body, such as vegetables and greens , whole grains and pulses (beans, peas, soy, lentils) are the best way out.

It is also good to cut out juices and sweets, shorten the intervals between meals so that you eat every three hours and eat well before exercising .

Attention Diabetics:  Do not maintain high blood glucose levels to avoid hypoglycemia crises, as there may be long-term complications. If the glucose is still low, repeat the processes, once the rate returns to normal, have a small snack if the next meal is planned for 1 or 2 hours later.