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Hypoglycemia Symptoms and Alternative Hypoglycemia Treatments

Low blood sugar or hypoglycemia symptoms typically worsen several hours after a meal. Scientific studies show that there’s much more to hypoglycemia symptoms and hypoglycemia treatments than just low blood sugar. The adrenal stress hormones, adrenalin, and cortisol, are critically involved. In fact, most hypoglycemia symptoms are caused not by low blood sugar per se, but by an over-reaction of adrenalin and cortisol discharge—part of the body’s defense against blood sugar falling too low. A broad holistic approach to hypoglycemia treatments provides the best results.

Potential Hypoglycemia Symptoms

Diet-induced Hypoglycemia Symptoms Versus Hypoglycemia Symptoms Due to Diabetes

Too much insulin or oral medicine for diabetes can drive blood sugar (glucose) down too low. Dietary hypoglycemia symptoms trigger by a different path. Normally after eating, blood sugar (glucose) rises. Then the pancreatic hormone, insulin, kicks–in, driving blood sugar back down. The low point or nadir of the blood sugar curve occurs three or four hours after eating.

adrenal glands and hypoglycemiaAt the low blood sugar nadir, the adrenal glands fire–off modest amounts of two anti–hypoglycemia hormones, adrenalin/epinephrine and cortisol. These anti–hypoglycemia hormones promptly drive blood sugar levels back up, in effect, a natural hypoglycemia treatment. No hypoglycemia symptoms occur.

In contrast, people with diet–induced hypoglycemia are primed so their hypoglycemia–regulating hormones tend to overreact. As blood sugar rises after eating, the pancreas overshoots, firing too much insulin. This drives blood sugar down faster and further than it should. As blood sugar falls the adrenal glands “recognize” the need for an emergency hypoglycemia treatment to block blood sugar from crashing. The adrenals discharge massive amounts of adrenalin and cortisol. This drives blood sugar back up. Adrenalin can cause all the hypoglycemia symptoms listed above. Cortisone causes fatigue, anxiety, hunger and depression. This critical role of adrenalin and cortisol for hypoglycemia symptoms was proven by researchers at the National Institutes way back in 1984.