When you eat, foods get broken down to supply your body with needed glucose or sugar for energy. Foods that are easily digested raise your blood glucose level quickly and cause your pancreas to release lots of insulin. When the insulin acts on the high glucose level, your pancreas can produce too much insulin. This causes your blood glucose level to drop too quickly, and you to have symptoms of rapid heart beat, nervousness and sweating. When this occurs shortly after meals, it is called postprandial hypoglycemia.
Postprandial Hypoglycemia
Symptoms are experienced on average of two to four hours after meals. Your body releases too much insulin in response to the meal you have eaten, causing you to have postprandial hypoglycemia. Common symptoms include dizziness, sweating, rapid heart beat, hunger, confusion or difficulty thinking, faintness, irritability and tremors.
Foods to Eat
Focus your diet on foods that digest slowly and gradually increase glucose and insulin levels. Include lean meats, fish, eggs, low-fat cheeses, skinless chicken and turkey, beans, lentils, nut butters and vegetarian meat replacers, including tofu and seitan with each meal. Protein is more difficult to digest and breaks down slowly, causing your blood glucose levels to raise more steadily, allowing your insulin production to match better. Brown rice, whole grain breads and pastas, quinoa, oatmeal, millet, barley, fruits and vegetables digest slowly because of their fiber content. Fiber slows down the digestion process and maintains a feeling of fullness longer. Eating high fiber foods has been shown to lower blood glucose levels and help maintain lower insulin levels after meals.
Meal Structure
Including a protein-rich food and high fiber food with each meal lessens postprandial hypoglycemia. Focus on having oatmeal or whole grain cereal at breakfast. Pairing these foods up with scrambled eggs or a slice of lean ham provides the protein your body needs to maintain steady blood glucose levels. Lunch and dinner should include lean proteins, vegetables along with a complex carbohydrate, such as sweet potatoes, beans, brown rice or lentils, to add fiber to slow the digestion process down.
Snacks
Including a snack between meals maintains your glucose levels and prevents hypoglycemic events that can occur two to four hours after meals. Eating every three to four hours prevents hypoglycemic events that can occur after your meals. Snacks that consist of protein and complex carbs ward off postprandial hypoglycemia.
Foods to Avoid
Avoid simple carbohydrates, such as cakes, cookies, pies, sugary fruit drinks, syrup and other refined carbohydrates. These foods break down quickly, causing rapidly rising glucose and your body to release large amounts of insulin to contain your glucose levels. Caffeine and alcohol should be avoided as they can increase the intensity of symptoms.
