I'm needing some help with a 'project' my husband put in my hands. Can anyone help me out?

A friend of my DH at work has hypoglycemia. However, he is not looking after himself very well, especially in the area of proper eating. I know that LowCarbing is the way to go for hypoglycemics, but I don't know how it should differ from a LC weight reducing WOE.

This friend does not need to lose any weight -he has a tiny bone structure as well as there's almost no fat on him.

He is not a reader so giving him a LowCarb book to read won't work -my DH wants me to explain the low carb WOL to this friend in about 3 minutes, simple enough for a 10 yr old to understand (English is this friend's 3rd language). If I could write something up for him, it has to be no longer than 1-1/2 pages, including types of food to eat. Can someone help me out with this? ....links? advice? etc?

My DH would like to give him a small food basket of quick snacks, hoping that it would help the guy out with starting to think in the right way. I need suggestions.

These are some things I was thinking of putting in the basket:

-couple pkg pork rinds

-mixed nuts with raisins/ dried fruit in it (hypoglycemics need some fast acting carbs to get out of a low-sugar attack, don't they?) Is there any protein value in cocoNUT? Seeds (ie: pumpkin / sunflower seeds)?

-small cans of pate, tuna, ham, turkey, sardines, SF peanut butter

-couple pkg of "Hot Rods" (pepperette sticks by Schneiders)

-what about a jar of pickled eggs?

-what else could I put in? -he doesn't really like cheeses. He's very familiar with oriental foods. Who knows if there's good oriental quick protein-foods out there?
......could I put a pkg of Rye Krisps in the basket?
......what about canned chili? canned pork & beans?
......???????

This fella travels/ works overtime a lot ...needs practical advice / food for an 'on the run' life style.

All help & advice is much appreciated!

about a diet for hypoglycemia is similar to a diabetic diet. Mainly, balance between any carb intake and protein. If a hypoglycemic eats something carby, the blood sugar rises quickly and then drops much too fast. If a carbohydrate is eaten, it should be balanced with a protein.
A low carb diet is perfect because if the carb intake is low they do not get the ugar spikes that cause the pancreas to increase it's output of insulin which causes the rapid drop in sugar levels as soon as the carbohydrate they ate is gone. When they eat carbs, their body goes into "overdrive". It pumps out an excess of insulin to counter the effect of the carb. The carbohydrate is quickly consumed by the insulin that is pumped out and if there is not a protein available, the extra insulin causes the blood sugar to drop rapidly. Also, it seems to be helpful to eat about 6 small meals a day instead of the ususal 3 meals. If a hypoglycemic is having a hypoglycemic reaction, yes, they need a quick sugar...such as orange juice if available or candy. They they should have a protein...as soon as possible to keep the blood sugar from dropping again. You could put a tube of cake decorator icing in your pack or the glucerna (sp) that is sold to raise blood sugar levels fast. He should know that after he begins to feel able , he should eat a protein....I always just use a spoon full of peanut butter or a small pack of peanuts... to keep his blood sugar stable.

No raisins!!!! Grapes and raisins are no-nos. Think protein; all kinds of nuts. Do you have an Asian market nearby? They might be able to help with ethnic protein foods.

My mom used to pack a box of "special" foods at Christmas; I'm trying to remember what was in there: nuts, sugar free juices, V-8 juice, sugar free candies and snacks.

That's really nice of you and your DH to help that man. Good luck.


Lori

Thanks Spring & Lori Jo:

I'm a little confused here: it's OK to put a tube of cake decorating icing in our basket but NOT raisins to help come out of a low-sugar attack?

I thought of another idea: would a jar of olives be good? It's not a protein but it's fat content is good ...would the carbs be all right to come out of an attack or just to eat as a snack for one who doesn't need to lose weight?

I like the V-8 juice & SF candy suggestion ....I think the guy will too. Once he gets an idea of what snacks he can have, maybe he'll look after himself better.

Prior to LCing I had hypoglycemia for 25 years.... and I do NOT recommend sugar at all...it gave me the heebie jeebies just thinking about carrying around a tube of cake icing!! But I guess everyone is different!

I always had a protein source nearby.... peanut butter, nuts, cheese, milk, and of course, meat! If carbs are the only thing available, then a protein portion should be eaten within an hour. And absolutely it is important to eat several times a day.

Caffeine seems to trigger an insulin response in me, so I try not to consume too much of that. If I have caffeine with a meal, it's not as bad.

All carbs ingested should be good, high quality carbs, no simple starches.

That's my best advice right there.

I agree with Teri...

Hypoglycemics don't need fast acting carbs if they are eating correctly. Fast acting carbs start a vicious circle: you eat the carbs, your blood sugar goes up, the pancreas produces too much insulin in response, the blood sugar then drops too low and you feel the need physically for more carbs to raise the blood sugar again which starts the cycle all over again. The idea is to stabilize your blood sugar and keep it that way (no wild swings from sugar or high carb foods) and to eat frequent small meals to prevent blood sugar drops. Many people don't know that hypoglycemia, if left untreated, can lead to diabetes later because the beta cells in the pancreas burn out from overproducing insulin. Sugar and fast acting carbs are absolute no-no's for diabetics as well as hypoglycemics. A low carb weight loss WOE this person doesn't need from what you described, but he can go on the maintainance form of the Atkins diet. Carbs between 60 and 100 grams a day obtained mainly from veggies and low glycemic fruits such as melons and berries. When carbs are consumed, they should be balanced with a protein to prevent a strong insulin response with a resulting drop in blood sugar. I'd suggest leaving out the high carb (raisins and dried fruits or any type of fruit juice) and high sugar items (tube of frosting) and perhaps adding some strawberries. Nuts and seeds are fine as would be the Wasa crackers. Does he like cream cheese? How about sugar free peanut butter? Whole grain breads might be good in moderation or maybe some stir-fry veggies with a package of chicken. It occurs to me that Schwarzbein might be a good plan for him to follow. Hope this helps!

a hypoglycemic sufferer can have a low blood sugar episode that necessitates getting their sugar up fast. They can go into shock if their sugar drops low enough. If this happens, it is necessary to give them something sweet to get their sugar up in a hurry.

I agree that they should avoid sugar....I am talking an emergency situation here! If a hypoglycemic is going into a shock situation they are usually shakey, cold and clammy and disoriented. This is also accompanied by nausea in many cases. If this happens, their sugar has to be gotten up and sugar...preferably orange juice if they can swallow will accomplish this. I have run into situations where they can't even swallow well enough to drink orange juice. That is when you can coat their lips with cake icing and have them lick their lips. That is why I suggested having the tube of cake icing or something similar. After they begin to recover, they should then be given a protein, such as peanut butter to keep their blood sugar level and eat more protein as soon as they feel able .
I agree that a low carb diet is the best solution to hypoglycemia. If they follow this type of diet, the quick rises and drops in blood sugar can usually be avoided. I am sorry if I caused confusion. I do not think hypoglycemics should eat sugar! I was talking about an emergency situation, not eating cake icing as part of their diet.

Spring...in that context you are correct. Dr. Bernstein recommends Dextrotabs or glucose gel for cases of moderate to severe hypoglycemia. The idea, though, is to prevent those episodes from happening in the first place by eating correctly. If you are not taking insulin or oral hypoglycemics, people usually respond very well to dietary changes and find that hypoglycemic episodes become very rare and occur only if they have eaten something that they shouldn't have or have skipped a meal.

Thanks, all! You've all been very helpful.

I went to our local grocery store today to pick up some things for the basket. I looked at the protein bars. My, my! There are lots of bars out there. They sure are not cheap either! There were no Atkins bars available. The lowest carb bar I could find were these "Solid Protein" bars with 11 g carbs. I tried to use the LC tools to calculate hidden carbs but I'm not sure I did it right. Anyway, it said that in reality, this bar has 26 g of carbs. Would that be bad for a hypoglycemic, who has no weight problem, to eat as a snack?

Another question: How many carbs / day could I tell this fella would be considered 'safe' to have. 50 - 60 g carbs daily?

Since this fella likes his rice & potatoes, is there any way that I could give some kind of serving suggestion on these things. I know ideally he should lay off them but we know he won't ...so what kind of guidelines could I give him? ie: don't go beyond 2 servings of high starch foods (excluding white breads or pasta) per day? (1 serving would be 1/2 cup's worth of potatoes / rice / carrots / corn / other?)

give up at least some of his starchy favorites, he will always have a blood sugar problem. If he will cut down on the starchy foods it will help if he balances every starch he eats with a protein. My ex-husband was hypoglycemic and never had any problems with his sugar levels as long as he ate more protein than starch.

As for being able to completely control hypoglycemia with diet, it is possible unless there is another problem. During sickness...stomach virus etc. it is almost impossible to keep the levels under control if it lasts very long.

Would he be willing to substitute some lower carb/lower glycemic things for the higher carb ones? For instance...instead of having white potatoes, how about sweet potatoes? Instead of white rice, how about brown rice? Whole grain breads without added sugar or sweeteners instead of nutrient deficient white bread. The advice to always balance a higher carb food with a protein is very good and I'd certainly suggest that. The protein tends to slow the absorption of the carbs and keep the blood sugar from rising as rapidly as it would if the high carb food were eaten on its own. Spring is right, though...if he won't give up chowing down on carby foods, he will always have a problem with his blood sugar. I don't think I'd recommend a protein bar with 26 grams of carb as a snack for a person with blood sugar problems; he'd be better off snacking on cheese cubes or nitrate-free jerky. As for his carb level, it really depends on him; some people can handle more than others. 50-60 may be a bit low or it could be just right.

Hi Lisa N & Spring:

I do believe this fella will always have a blood sugar problem since he really isn't interested in looking after himself in a serious way. As my husband has seen this guy chow down KFC complete with french fries, McDonalds foods, and other junk foods, we felt that there must be a way to introduce him to a way of eating to try & help himself. Ideally, it would be great if this fella would get a handle on his eating habits for the sake of his health, but unless he is enticed with good food and/or feeling a difference in his health, I don't know how we can convince him to at least try this better way of eating other than giving him a goodie basket and some added information.

Even though he shouldn't eat carbs, we know he will. So that is why I asked for what the better options are if he's gonna eat the stuff anyway. Thanks for the 'better of the 2 evils" suggestions, as well as the suggestion of accompanying carbs with proteins.

In my little blub I made up for him, I STRONGLY suggested to stay away from things like potatoes, rices, pastas, starchy veggies, etc. but that, if he was going to eat it anyway, then don't exceed 2 portions in a day and don't eat them on a daily basis. I'm guessing it'll be better for him than what he's doing now. I'm also planning on contacting his wife to find out what cheeses / other proteins this guy would eat & include it in the basket.

We can only hope that this 'intro' into a different way of eating will help in some small way. We know he has to make his own decision about helping himself ...hopefully enticing him with a basket of quick etibles will help.

Thanx to both of you for all your input!

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Unless he is motivated internally to do this for himself, all your good intentions are going to be wasted, I fear. It can't hurt to try, but don't be disappointed if the advice isn't taken to heart or followed. Another quote that I saw recently in my workplace newsletter comes to mind: "A good scare is often more valuable to a man than good advice". I'd hate to see it come to that, but perhaps it will take a serious run-in with a bad bout of hypoglycemia to wake this guy up to what is happening to his body and get him to take action. Good luck!

....but if the waters are pleasant, there's a chance he may go for it.

We are prepared to accept that he won't go for it (it is very likely that he won't 'cuz, as you said --unless he is motivated internally to do this for himself, he'll continue on in the ways of folly). However, there will always be the personal knowledge that we did what we felt we could and there will be no one who will be able to point a finger at us saying that we 'kept the good news to ourselves'.



--that's so true with the majority of us. Here's hoping this guy is smarter than the rest of us!

We hope to have this thing ready within the week. If you're interested, I could send a quick note letting you know if we see any positive progress. It may take a month or 2 before you hear from me ...I want to see if there was really any longer-term success than just finishing up what was in the basket. Thanx for your input! - -