The purpose of this research is to examine and define hypoglycemia and its causes, and to outline the types of nutritional program a hypoglycemic should follow.
Hypoglycemia, as the Latin words indicate, means low blood sugar. Although diabetes, high blood sugar, is the direct opposite problem, both conditions are linked to a defective sugar metabolism in the body. Insulin, which is produced by the pancreas, causes sugar to be used. In the diabetic system too little insulin is produced so that sugar remains in the bloodstream for an extensive time. The hypoglycemic's pancreas produces an excess of insulin which results in too little sugar remaining in the bloodstream (Airola, 1977, pp. 20-21).
Ideally, the body is equipped to manage occasional excesses of sugar. In the body dietary starches, carbohydrates, and sugars are changed into glucose during the digestive process. This glucose is then transformed into glycogen, which is stored in the liver. Glucose is necessary to assure a healthy functioning of all tissues and organs, and is constantly released by the liver as needed. The dietary sugar in the blood is continually controlled by several mechanisms so that there is neither an excess nor a dearth. If there is too much sugar the islets of Langerhans produce insulin and send it into the bloodstream. The insulin converts the sugar into other elements so that the blood sugar level is normalized. If there is not enough sugar in the bloodstream the adrenal glands produce adrenalin, which causes the liver to release more glucose into the blood (Airola, 1977, pp. 27-28).
When this system is consistently abused or overtaxed it will malfunction. If the sugar level becomes too high and the pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin to lower the sugar level to an acceptable level diabetes results. When the sugar level is too low because of overproduction of insulin or underproduction of glucagon, which controls insul...