Читать книгу Low Blood Sugar: The Nutritional Plan to Overcome Hypoglycaemia, with 60 Recipes - Martin Budd N.D. D.O. - Страница 9

To discuss the diversity of symptoms caused by low blood sugar would take up most of this book. However, the list below is a representative selection of the most common symptoms that can be caused in part or wholly by low blood sugar.

Fatigue	Anxiety	Depression
Irritability	Forgetfulness	Poor concentration
Indigestion	Breathlessness	Panic feelings
Headaches	Migraine	Asthma
Overweight	Food cravings	Excessive smoking
Alcoholism	Vertigo	Sweating
Pre-menstrual tension	Muscular stiffness	Phobias
Numbness	Blurred vision	Cold extremities
Joint pain	Fainting and blackouts	Convulsions
Nightmares	Lack of sex drive	Allergies
Angina	Suicidal tendencies	Irritable bowel symptoms
Epilepsy	Stomach cramps	Stomach ulcers
Hyperactivity	Neuralgia	Agoraphobia
Narcolepsy	Tinnitus

I am sure there will be many eyebrows raised at the great variety and number of symptoms I have listed and, at first sight, it is difficult to imagine that there is a common theme to all these conditions.

Interestingly though, many of the symptoms of low blood sugar are classed by doctors as ‘stress disorders’ and I hope to show, by describing the effect of sugar on the nervous system, that many of these symptoms are in fact due to nutritional imbalances and not ‘personality failings’. You may see several of your own symptoms on the list; but simply to scan this list, recognize your symptoms and blame low blood sugar is not the answer. As previously stated, many of these symptoms may have other causes, not least of which could be stress.

Self-diagnosis is therefore not advisable; a naturopath or sympathetic doctor should be able to offer more objective diagnostic methods. These can include, in addition to detailed case-history taking, the six-hour glucose tolerance test, the measurement of adrenal and thyroid hormones and a blood insulin test (these will be discussed in due course).

At some time in their lives most people experience one or more of the symptoms listed above. They are usually caused by transient low blood sugar – a temporary or passing fall in the blood sugar level. This is rapidly rectified by the body’s own sugar regulation mechanism. Once a balance is achieved, the symptoms usually disappear. If, however, there is a chronic imbalance in our sugar regulation, the symptoms may well improve or change, but they will always return if the actual imbalance is not corrected.

Now let us look more closely at the way in which a drop in the blood sugar directly affects the various organs and systems of the body, giving rise to the symptoms outlined. In this way you will begin to understand why the blood sugar level is so important to the normal running of the body. The effects of low blood sugar can be classified as follows: