Symptoms of hypoglycemia can occur on an isolated basis if you go a while without eating. When you don't supply your body with carbohydrates, which it converts to glucose or blood sugar, your blood sugar can drop in response. Hypoglycemia also occurs when your insulin depletes the glucose in your blood. This can happen if you take medication for diabetes. This type of hypoglycemia requires careful monitoring of your diet to maintain your blood sugar levels, and vegetables can play a part.
Soluble Fiber
Vegetables that are good sources of soluble fiber can help keep your blood sugar steady. Soluble fiber slows your body's absorption of carbohydrates. The more carbs that hit your bloodstream in a rush, the more insulin your body will produce to deal with it, hastening it off to your liver and muscles for storage, leaving little behind in your blood. Vegetables that are good sources of soluble fiber include parsnips and peas. Potatoes, carrots, broccoli and corn also have some soluble fiber content.
Complex Carbohydrates
Simple carbohydrates are the easiest for your body to convert to glucose, because they consist of a single molecule. Complex carbohydrates involve chains of molecules, so their conversion to glucose takes a bit longer. When carbs hit your blood more slowly, they elicit less of an insulin reaction. The longer your body takes to break down carbohydrates into glucose, the less wildly your blood glucose will rise and fall. Complex carbohydrates are an important part of any hypoglycemia diet. Good vegetable sources include rhubarb, sweet potatoes, corn and peas.
Other Vegetables
Other vegetables that might help your condition include those high in iron, B vitamins and antioxidants. Squash and bell peppers are good sources of antioxidants. Spinach has more than 6 mg of iron per cup. Chickpeas are high in vitamin B-6, and green peas offer thiamin, or vitamin B-1. The University of Maryland Medical Center indicates that these properties and nutrients can ease the symptoms of hypoglycemia when your blood sugar does fall.
Tips
Vegetables are usually a very safe food choice for those who suffer from hypoglycemia, but different foods can affect people in different ways. The Hypoglycemia Support Foundation suggests keeping a food diary to figure out if any particular food, including various vegetables, either prompts symptoms or alleviates them. List everything you eat each day on the left side of the page, and note your symptoms, if any, on the right side of the page. You may notice a correlation between something in your diet and an increase in your symptoms, so you can eliminate that particular food. Ask your doctor for advice if you have medical or dietary concerns.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Hypoglycemia; 2011
- Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine: Hypoglycemia and Diet
- The Hypoglycemia Support Foundation; The Importance of Individualizing Your Hypoglycemia Diet; Roberta Ruggiero
- United States Department of Agriculture: USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 22
- FatFreeKitchen.com; Soluble Fiber Foods List; 2005
- Harvard School of Public Health; Carbohydrates: Good Carbs Guide the Way; 2011
