Once you've had it, low blood sugar is unmistakable. When your blood sugar drops below normal levels, you get weak, anxious, dizzy, hungry and you begin to sweat, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. You might feel confused or have difficulty speaking. It's an awful feeling. Fortunately, you can follow a diet designed to prevent incidents of low blood sugar.
Causes
When you eat carbohydrates, your body produces a hormone called insulin to help you digest them, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Low blood sugar, also called hypoglycemia, can occur several hours after you eat, as your body finishes digesting those carbohydrates and your insulin level stays high. Diabetics can suffer from hypoglycemia as a side effect of their medications, but people without diabetes also can have it.
Function
To curb low blood sugar, you almost always have to change your diet and your eating habits, according to Michigan State University. You'll need to slow down your digestion so that your blood sugar and insulin levels remain fairly evenly matched throughout the day. You'll probably need to eat five or six small meals each day, each including some high-fiber carbohydrates such as whole grain bread, instead of three larger meals each day.
Details
To avoid low blood sugar, you should combine complex carbohydrates with proteins and healthy fat sources, according to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champlain. Some foods recommended for a low blood sugar diet include a meat or a cheese sandwich made with whole grain bread, fruit with yogurt, cottage cheese and whole grain crackers and cream cheese on a whole grain bagel.
What to Avoid
Meanwhile, you should avoid foods that can raise your blood sugar quickly and then lower it just as quickly, according to Michigan State University. These foods include sweetened cereals, cakes, cookies and anything made with lots of white flour and sugar, such as pastries. You also should avoid alcohol, since alcohol can lower your blood sugar, especially if you've got an empty stomach.
Prevention/Solution
Complex carbohydrates, which your body digests more slowly than it does simple carbohydrates, represent your best bet to keep your blood sugar more even throughout the day, according to Michigan State University. Therefore, you should load your diet full of high-fiber whole grains such as brown rice and popcorn, vegetables such as artichokes and peas, and legumes such as black beans and lentils.
