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Dealing With Low Blood Sugar or Hypoglycemia? You Do not Want to Mess With This Dirty Dozen

Some of you (especially baby boomers) might remember The Dirty Dozen, a blockbuster war movie from 1967 featuring an incredible cast that included Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Robert Ryan, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, George Kennedy, and Telly Savalas.

Well, this article is NOT about that Dirty Dozen. It’s about a dozen foods that are downright bad & dirty for you if you’re someone dealing with low blood sugar or hypoglycemia. The characters in the movie were bad dudes, the foods on this list are bad foods. All twelve of them. Avoid them as much as possible.

Bad food #12-White rice:

All foods sit on a continuum that relates their sugar content to how fast they are used in your body. This is called the glycemic index.

In order to keep your blood sugar level constant with as few peaks and valleys as possible, you need to slow the rate at which your body converts your food to the various kinds of sugar used and stored in your body. The best way to do this is to eat foods that, in addition to supplying all the right components of nutrition, burn very slowly.

Since the goal is to slow the rate at which your food is broken down, it is important for an hypoglycemic to avoid fast burning, high glycemic foods starting with sugar, but also including refined foods. This includes white flour, white rice, and other refined and polished grains.

Bad food #11-White bread:

Yes, this is a junk food for an hypoglycemic. Every time you look at a slice of white bread you are seeing a slice of sugar – it acts in the body the same way.

Bad food #10-Donuts:

Think of it as white bread dipped in sugar. What could be worse? No wonder there's a big hole in the middle – it's a nutritional zero. What was just said pretty much applies to cookies and cakes in general. Anything that’s made with white flour and lots of sugar, not to mention shortening, coloring and preservatives, is BAD for you!

Bad food #9-Alcohol:

Alcohol, like sugar, contains nothing but calories. It has no nutritive value at all and moves very quickly into your blood stream. This affects your blood sugar very suddenly, and there is a corresponding drop in blood sugar as the alcohol leaves your system.

In diabetes, you can control your sugar level with injected insulin. In hypoglycemia this is not possible, and if you eat and drink foods that play havoc with your blood sugar level, you just have to live with the symptoms. It’s much better then, to avoid the booze and the feeling rotten that comes with it.

An extra caution: Read the labels on all your medications; many include alcohol. You need to find alternatives if at all possible. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you have prescription medication containing alcohol, and ask for help finding an alcohol-free alternative. Some allergy shots also contain alcohol, so check with your doctor.

Alcohol, particularly when consumed with carbohydrate, can cause an excessive release of insulin and lead to episodes of hypoglycemia. The most common scenario is when you consume alcohol and carbohydrate alone, as with a gin (alcohol) and tonic (pure carbohydrate) and a small cracker or cookie. This is a recipe for disaster, and can cause low blood sugar and its accompanying symptoms even if you never have symptoms otherwise. The occasional occurrence of alcohol-induced hypoglycemia is not necessarily an indication that you are, or will become, a chronic hypoglycemic, but whether chronic or not, hypoglycemia is hard on your body and should always be avoided if possible.

There are fairly strong links between hypoglycemia and alcohol related problems, and more than one study suggests that alcoholism can result from unchecked hypoglycemia.

Bad food #8-Fruit drinks:

Not to be confused with fruit juices, fruit drinks are 10 per cent or less real fruit with lots of sugar. They're loaded with artificial coloring and sucrose. Definitely teeth rotters. A better choice? Fruit juice (in very small amounts). Even better? Whole fruit – since you’ll benefit from the fiber!

Bad food #7-Decaffeinated coffee:

This is bad for everybody, not just hypoglycemic. The reason is that to remove the caffeine, they add chemical solvent right into your favorite beverage.

Bad food #6-Soft drinks / pop:

Let's see now, how do you spell increased bone breakage? P-O-P. Pop is nothing more than water, colorant, artificial flavor and SUGAR? It’s absolutely DREADFUL for anyone dealing with low blood sugar or hypoglycemia!

Bad food #5. Diet pop:

You get all the dandy benefits of pop (!?!?), plus artificial sweetener, which has been shown in studies to actually increase your sugar cravings and alter your brain chemistry.

Bad food #4-Sugary breakfast cereals:

Now here's a guarantee: If you want to start your day in a low life-force mode, then this is the junk breakfast for you – even more so if you add to those cereals a couple toasted pieces of white bread.

Bad food #3-Deep-dish pizza:

This is an excellent way to stack, jack and pack your glycemic index tract with one big dollop of sodium, dough (white flour) and fat – an overnight weight-gain wonder.

Bad food #2-Ice cream:

Here's a beauty, high in sugar and high in fat, for another whack attack on your pancreas and your arteries.

Alright, this is it! The number 1 in our top 12 list of really bad foods for hypoglycemics...

Bad food #1-French fries (and their cousin potato chips):

Here's why: Both of these are unparalleled sodium-loading enzyme-dead food. And new information now shows that they’re high in acrylimide, a known cancer-causing agent. In fact, the amount of acrylimide in a serving of fast-food French fries is 300 times above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's limit set for one glass of water.

Bon appétit!

Eat well, be well, live well!

Daniel G. St-Jean

Editor of Help For Hypoglycemia

Publisher of the Help For Hypoglycemia Blog

About the Author

Daniel G. St-Jean is the Editor of Help For Hypoglycemia ( http://www.help-for-hypoglycemia.com ) where you’ll find much info about hypoglycemia diet, and the publisher of the Help For Hypoglycemia Blog ( http://www.help-for-hypoglycemia-blog.com ). Both provide info and resources to people dealing with low blood sugar and hypoglycemia. Start by asking for the FREE eBook entitled 22 Easy, Yummy, and Delicious Recipes for Hypoglycemics at http://www.help-for-hypoglycemia.com/fr-ee_recipe_ebook.

Low-Calorie, Sugar Free, Delectable Desserts!

You don’t have to give up dessert just because your doctor told you to cut back on your sugar intake. There are dozens of delicious, refreshing and downright delectable desserts that you can make with absolutely no sugar at all. Next time you’re looking for something a little sweet to end your meal that won’t triple your calorie count try one of these great sugar free suggestions to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Root-toot-fruity and frosty desserts

Fruit is naturally sweet and delicious and summertime fruit is especially refreshing. Take full advantage of fruit that is in season with one of these tasty dessert ideas using fresh fruit.

Nutty Frozen Bananas

Peel ripe bananas and cut each banana into 3 inch long pieces. Insert either a bamboo skewer or Popsicle stick into the end of each piece. Dip the pieces into sugar-free melted chocolate, and then roll them into either chopped walnuts or crushed peanuts. Freeze the bananas on a cookie sheet covered with waxed paper and enjoy as a mid-afternoon snack.

Pineapple-Strawberry Skewers

To make pineapple-strawberry skewers first rinse and hull a fresh pack of strawberries. Next slide two or three strawberries onto a bamboo skewer, alternating each one with a chunk of pineapple. Then soak the skewers in unsweetened pineapple juice or apple juice for half an hour and after that freeze for 1-2 hours. You’ll have a delicious, frosty treat that’s the perfect end to a barbecue meal or a family picnic.

Berry-Blast Sorbet

Puree two cups of mixed fresh berries with the juice and zest of one lemon. Strain the berry puree through a metal strainer to remove the seeds and pulp. Add Splenda or another sugar substitute to taste. Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker and store in a covered container in the freezer. Try mixing proportions of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries until you get the flavor that you like.

Variation: Add ½ teaspoon of grated ginger or a dash of cayenne for an added zing.

Sugar-Free Strawberry Shortcake

No need to give up that quintessential summertime treat just because you have to cut sugar out from your diet. Here are some ways to make your strawberry shortcake guilt and sugar free.

-         Slice fresh berries and sweeten with Splenda Granulated instead of using sweetened frozen berries or sweetening with sugar.

-         Instead of high-calorie shortcake or biscuits, bake a sugar-free cake to serve as the base.

-         Barring that, use sugar-free graham crackers or vanilla wafers instead of shortcake for your base. Just let the berries sit on them for an extra minute or two to let the juices sink in.

-         Top with a tablespoon of homemade fresh whipped cream, either unsweetened, or sweetened with a packet of sugar substitute.

-         OR chill two cups of skim or low-fat milk to just above freezing. Whip to a thick, bubbly froth with an electric beater, sweetening with sugar substitute.

Sugar-free Ice Cream Ideas

Do you love ice cream? You can certainly buy low-fat and sugar-free ice cream at the grocery store, but you don’t have to be stuck with the few flavors that you can find sugar free. Instead, invest in an inexpensive ice cream maker and play with your own flavors. Not only will you get ice cream made with healthy, fresh ingredients, but you and your family can have a lot of fun creating your very own signature flavors. Start with this basic recipe for sugar free ice cream and then try your own variations to create a special and deliciously guilt-free ice cream.

Ingredients

3 c. nonfat milk

¼ c. nonfat powdered milk

1 c. Splenda Granulated

8 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 c. fruit

Ice cream maker

Start by mixing 2 cups of nonfat milk, powdered milk and Splenda in a heavy saucepan. Heat to a simmer, but don’t allow it to boil. Then set aside the warm milk.

Whip egg yolks until they’re thick and creamy. They’ll be a light, creamy color and you’ll be able to draw a spatula through the yolks and leave a ribbon.

Add one cup of the hot milk to the eggs while constantly whisking the mixture. This “tempers” the yolks so that the hot milk doesn’t cook them.

Pour the egg-and-milk mixture back into the pot and turn the heat up to medium. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is about the thickness of thick gravy.

Stir in the cold milk (you can use half and half or light cream instead for creamier ice cream) and vanilla, then refrigerate till chilled – at least eight hours or overnight.

Add pureed or chopped fruit to the custard mixture, and then pour it into your ice cream freezer bowl. From here on out, follow the directions on your ice cream freezer.

Sugar Free Ice Cream Add-ins

2 cups of pureed mangoes

2 cups hulled, pureed strawberries

1 cup of raisins macerated in ¼ cup brandy or rum

2 cups mixed berries, pureed and strained to remove seeds

½ cup very finely chopped mint leaves with 1 c. pureed peaches

About the Author

Jennifer Bailey is a freelance writer who writes about losing weight and keeping it off by exercising and eating low calories meals made with items like Splenda.