Diabetic Menu Guide

What is Hypoglycemia?
Hypoglycemia is a condition in which your blood sugar levels drop below the normal 72mg/dl. It’s also called “low blood sugar” or “low blood glucose”. Glucose is a main source of energy, when glucose is low the body is not able to function normally, similar like a car without sufficient fuel.

The cause of hypoglycemic conditions varies – diseases, medications, cancers and hormone disorders etc. However hypoglycemia symptoms are more commonly seen in patients receive diabetes treatments. A healthy lifestyle is one of the best ways to prevent hypo, eating healthily, regularly avoid unhealthy foods.

The symptoms of low blood sugar include:

1. Confusion, abnormal behavior or both, such as the inability to complete routine tasks
2. Visual disturbances, such as double vision and blurred vision
3. Seizures, though uncommon
4. Loss of consciousness, uncommon
5. Hypoglycemia may also cause other signs and symptoms such as heart palpitations, tremor, anxiety, sweating and hunger.

How to Prevent Hypoglycemia
Diabetes treatment plans are designed to match the dose and timing of medication to a person’s usual schedule of meals and activities. If the plans are not followed correctly, it could result in hypoglycemia. For example, taking pills or having an injection of insulin then skipping a meal could result in hypoglycemia.

To help prevent hypoglycemia, people with diabetes should always consider:

1. Find out which diabetes medication can cause hypoglycemia. Always take these medications at the recommended time and doses. Learn how to adjust the medications to match changes in daily life routine.
2. Set up a meal plan, preferably by the help of an experience dietitian. Diabetic patients should eat their meal regularly in terms of time and the amount. Always try to avoid skipping any meals or snacks.
3. Check blood glucose before sports, exercise or other physical activities and have a snack if the level is below 100mg/dl. Check blood glucose level more frequently if the activity is extended, have a meal or snack if necessary.
4. Limit the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Drinking alcoholic drinks, especially on an empty stomach, can cause hypoglycemia. Heavy drinking can be particularly dangerous for people receiving diabetes treatment.
5. Intensive diabetes treatment plan, an attempt to keep blood sugar as close to normal as possible to prevent long term complications, can cause hypoglycemia. Always discuss with your doctor before following such a plan

Editor’s note re hypoglycemia, a real possibility for all people with diabetes:
While not normally found with the usual diabetic menu related items listed on this site,  hypoglycemia is an important subject and a blood sugar condition that all diabetics should be aware of and know how to deal with. That is why a suitable snack that can help slowly raise blood sugars back to normal should be close at hand for the diabetic person in the case of an emergency hypoglycemic event. There are many suitable food items that can serve as a diabetic snack. For myself, as a long time type-2 diabetic, I usually like to have a suitably sized apple juice drink available for the purpose — and there have been several occasions when it has been needed. Apple juice is usually readily available at grocery stores in small cartons or bottles holding approximately 200 mL.  I have found those useful as a regular diabetic snack as well as for emergencies. Most diabetics have experienced instances of the “shaky” feelings of too-low blood sugars, when that happens to me, I usually take a quick blood test to confirm and then drink half a small 200 mL carton of juice.carton of juice, it does the trick, as they say.

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