A. Hypoglycemia is when your blood sugar becomes low enough to cause symptoms such as dizziness, intense hunger, sweating, and moodiness.

17. What causes hypoglycemia?

A. Hypoglycemia was first discovered in diabetics. It’s the result of too much insulin in an insulin-dependent diabetic. More recently, hypoglycemia has been recognized as a problem that non-diabetics can have. Several organs and glands of the endocrine system contribute to the process of metabolizing food into energy. They are the liver, the pancreas, the adrenal glands, the thyroid, and the hypothalamus. A problem with the function of any of these organs can cause hypoglycemia.

It was originally thought that the only cause of hypoglycemia was overproduction of insulin. In his book Hope for Hypoglycemia, Dr. Broda Barnes explains that another common cause of hypoglycemia is a sluggish liver. When blood sugar levels drop between meals, the liver is responsible for converting stored glycogen into glucose for energy. Glucose, along with oxygen, feeds the brain and keeps the body functioning. A healthy liver works quickly to restore glucose levels so that a person feels little or no symptoms of low blood sugar. In people with slow functioning livers, the process of converting glycogen into glucose occurs slowly, resulting in hypoglycemia two to three hours after a meal.

Dr. Barnes further theorizes that hypoglycemia is usually a symptom of hypothyroidism, and that low thyroid function is what causes a slow functioning liver.

Broda Barnes’ theory is controversial. There are other factors that influence the blood sugar. If there is not proper production of cortisol in the adrenal glands, this also affects the process of converting glycogen into glucose. Therefore, weak adrenal glands can also cause hypoglycemia.

Diet is another factor. Eating too many refined carbohydrates is hard for the body to handle. They cause the blood sugar to get too high and this stimulates the pancreas to secrete an excess amount of insulin which drives the blood sugar too low. The low blood sugar causes excess stimulation of the adrenals. So eating a diet that avoids refined carbohydrates is very important. The consumption of sugar in the early part of the century in this country was around 5 pounds per person per year. Now it’s over 120 pounds per person per year. It’s important to read the labels of the food you eat. Doing so, you’ll realize how much sugar is added to foods.

A. Hypoglycemia is more common than the medical association once thought. It is likely that everyone has experienced the symptoms of it on occasion. The term hypoglycemia syndrome can be used to describe individuals who frequently experience hypoglycemia. Hypothyroidism, which is thought to be a common cause of hypoglycemia, occurs much more frequently than is diagnosed by current orthodox methods.

17. How can I find out if I have hypoglycemia?

A. Often the patient is in the best position to determine whether he or she is affected by hypoglycemia. If you often have the symptoms listed previously, and eating alleviates these symptoms, it’s likely you are affected by hypoglycemia. Testing should include a dietary survey and a hypoglycemia questionnaire.

Check blood pressure sitting and standing. If the blood pressure drops when the patient stands, it’s usually an indication of adrenal dysfunction, which is frequently a factor in non-diabetic hypoglycemia.

A four or six hour glucose tolerance test can be helpful for diagnosing hypoglycemia. The glucose test should include insulin levels. When the blood sugar goes above 150 at the first or second hour, it can indicate diabetes, but many times, even when it’s not high enough to indicate diabetes, it indicates liver dysfunction. If the blood sugar drops to around 60 at the forth or fifth hour, it usually indicates adrenal dysfunction. A glucose tolerance test that shows high at the first or second hours and low at the fourth or fifth hours is called dysinsulinism. This type of curve would indicate liver and adrenal dysfunction.

Testing patients suffering from hypoglycemia for hypothyroidism is also beneficial. Hypothyroidism is typically diagnosed by a blood test. However, it frequently occurs that a patient displays symptoms of hypothyroidism despite a negative blood test. Treating such patients for hypothyroidism will often relieve them of their symptoms.