The Atkins diet emphasizes high-protein, low-carbohydrate intake. People who have hypoglycemia, a medical term for low blood sugar, may have fewer symptoms when following this type of diet, according to registered dietitian Joanne Larson. Eating carbohydrates, which break down quickly into glucose, results in a more rapid rise and fall of blood sugar. Proteins and fats take longer to break down and absorb into the bloodstream, so they keep blood sugar levels more stable. Hypoglycemia, defined as a blood glucose level of less than 70 mg/dL, can occur in people with or without diabetes.
Causes
Insulin is a hormone that assists cells with glucose uptake. After food breaks down into glucose, insulin helps it enter cells to be used as energy. In insulin-dependent diabetics, the usual cause of hypoglycemia in insulin-dependent diabetics is too much insulin for too little food intake. In nondiabetics or prediabetics with hypoglycemia, who have a fasting blood glucose that falls between the normal range of 100 mg/dL and the diabetic levels of 126 mg/dl, the situation is a little different. Prediabetics often have reactive hypoglycemia. A person with reactive hypoglycemia either produces too much insulin or has cells that resist insulin, just like a person with prediabetes. Often these conditions are related to obesity and are a forerunner of type 2 diabetes.
Potential Benefits
If you're an insulin-dependent diabetic, follow your medical provider's instructions on diet. If you have reactive hypoglycemia, following the Atkins diet could help reduce your symptoms, according to Enter the Zone Diet.com. The Atkins diet in the initial weight-loss phase changes your metabolism so that you burn fat for fuel rather than carbohydrates. Because fats break down more slowly, your blood sugar levels don't rise and fall as severely, which causes hypoglycemia symptoms of shakiness, weakness, dizziness, nervousness, difficulty thinking or sweating. Because glucose triggers insulin release, slow glucose metabolism also stabilizes insulin release and reduces the high insulin levels often seen in prediabetics. Since high insulin levels also contribute to weight gain, lower insulin levels may contribute to weight loss. Not everyone agrees that ketosis is beneficial for people with hypoglycemia, however; Larson recommends keeping daily carbohydrate intake above 130 g, to prevent ketosis, or fat burning.
Risks
The Atkins diet starts out as very low-carb in the first few weeks, with just a few vegetables allowed, and then increases the amount of carbohydrate you can eat, including low-carb fruits such as strawberries and other berries. When adding more carbohydrates to your diet, you can reverse your fat-burning metabolism and switch back to using carbs for energy if you eat too many. When you increase your carb intake, watch carefully for symptoms of hypoglycemia that might indicate you're eating too many carbs.
Concerns
The Atkins diet can be hard on your kidneys because you eat more protein, which needs to be broken down in the kidneys. Do not go on the Atkins diet without your medical provider's approval if you suffer from kidney disease.
References
- Ask the Dietitian; Hypoglycemia & Low Blood Sugar; Joanne Larson, R.D.
- Jackson/Siegelbaum Gastroenterologists; Frank Jackson, M.D.
- Enter the Zone Diet: Zone vs. Atkins
- Atkins.com: The Program
- "Journal of the American Medical Association"; A Critique of Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Weight Reduction Regimens: A Review of Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution; 1974
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