2 Ways to Manage Low Blood Sugars

Tammy H., a fan of the Body Ecology Diet on Facebook, recently asked about how to raise blood sugar while on the Body Ecology Diet:

“If you suffer from Diabetes and sometimes need to quickly raise your blood sugar, what is the best way in the early stages and in the later stages?? Thanks for your help.”

Diabetes and Low Blood Sugar

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder. It affects your body’s ability to accept glucose — or sugar — and turn it into energy.

Diabetes is a chronic disorder where the level of sugar in the blood is too high. In other words, there is too much sugar outside the cells and not enough inside the cells. When cells do not get the energy that they need, they begin to starve.

Low blood sugars can be serious and potentially fatal. Signs of low blood sugar include:

• Lethargy or sluggishness
• Mental fog
• Irritability, feeling paranoid or aggressive
• Blurry vision
• Shaking, twitching, or weakness in the limbs
• A pale complexion
• Sweating
• Hunger
• In extreme cases, seizures or loss of consciousness

Low Blood Sugar and the Body Ecology Diet

Hypoglycemia — or low blood sugar — can quickly and profoundly affect the body. This is why it is always essential to raise blood sugar as soon as possible when there are signs of hypoglycemia.

To boost blood sugar, the American Diabetes Association recommends eating 15–20 grams of glucose or simple carbohydrates. They include examples, such as glucose tablets, hard candy, 2 tablespoons of raisins, 4 ounces of regular soda, 1 tablespoon of honey or corn syrup, or 1 cup of nonfat milk.

While these foods may boost blood sugar, they are otherwise nutritionally empty and not the types of foods that are included in the Body Ecology Diet; they can feed Candida overgrowth and disrupt the balance of microbes in the gastrointestinal tract.

That is why raising blood sugar quickly can be tricky if someone is worried about sticking to the Body Ecology basics. However, the Body Ecology Principle of Uniqueness tells us that no dietary “rule” should ever come before your personal health.

Thus, if you are experiencing low blood sugar, that is of primary importance. 

In general, Body Ecology focuses more on prevention — as the foods on the Body Ecology Diet are not full of sugar, and the Principle of Food Combining and Principle of 80/20 can support a balanced blood sugar. And in line with the Principle of Uniqueness, we encourage you to consider genetic testing and working with a nutritional genomics counselor to see which healing foods work best with your body, based on the specific coding of your unique genes.

As we have seen time and again from Body Ecology followers who undergo genetic testing, the results can be surprising. With the help of a counselor to interpret the genetic test results, many people discover that they are predisposed to gluten intolerance, while for others, something as simple as eating protein and healthy fats in the morning can make all the difference. We are all unique, and our genetic — and nutritional — needs are different.

2 Body Ecology Guidelines to Manage Low Blood Sugar

While these “quick fix” foods may not be eaten regularly in cases of hypoglycemia, they can help to quickly raise blood sugar during a crash:

1. Pomegranate Juice: When it comes to type 2 diabetes, pomegranate juice is especially useful to have on hand. Pomegranate juice is high in sugar, specifically glucose and fructose.¹ About half of the sugar in pomegranate juice is glucose — the type of sugar that your body requires to move out of hypoglycemia.²

One cup of commercial pomegranate juice contains roughly 30 grams of total sugar, hitting your target and giving you around 15 grams of glucose. 3 ounces of pomegranate juice concentrate gives you roughly 21 grams of glucose and 41 grams of total sugar.

If pomegranate juice is so high in sugar, you may wonder why it is on the initial stages of the Body Ecology Diet.

All parts of the pomegranate — the fruit, the seed, the peel, and juice — have been found to support health and promote longevity. In 2012, researchers at Queen Margaret University found that pomegranate juice contains potent polyphenols, plant chemicals that are often rich in antioxidants. The polyphenols in pomegranate juice protect the heart, safeguard against atherosclerosis, and regulate high blood pressure.³

Pomegranate juice also reduces insulin resistance, a disorder characterized by cells that do not respond to surges of insulin.⁴ Insulin resistance contributes to type 2 diabetes. Because pomegranate juice makes cells more receptive to insulin, it gets to the root of type 2 diabetes while quickly addressing a common side effect — low blood sugar.

2. Milk: On the later stage of the Body Ecology Diet, raw milk is an excellent source of simple sugars. Why raw?

Raw milk contains valuable enzymes that help the body break down sugars, like lactose.

If you have trouble digesting milk or cannot find raw milk, you can supplement with enzymes that assist with the breakdown of lactose and milk protein, like Assist Dairy and Protein. Goat milk is a hypoallergenic alternative to cow milk. Goat milk from pastured animals is also rich in CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), a fat that has been found to increase insulin sensitivity and reduce markers associated with type 2 diabetes.^5,6

Bear in mind, some people will never be able to tolerate dairy. Practice the Principle of Uniqueness and only drink milk if it is well tolerated. The amount of sugar in cow and goat milk varies slightly. You will find roughly 9-11 grams of sugar in 1 cup of milk. According to the American Diabetes Association, 1-1 ½ cups of milk will give you enough sugar to raise blood sugar.