Prevention
As breaking down of complex sugar in our body takes time, hence reducing simple sugars and increasing complex carbohydrates can help control blood sugar levels throughout the day and prevent any sudden spikes or dips.
- Simple sugars are like brown sugar, syrups and fruit juice concentrate.
- Complex carbohydrates are like whole grains, fibre rich fruits and vegetables, beans.
A person with hypoglycemia can try the following lifestyle considerations:
- eating frequent meals
- avoiding high sugar foods, including sweets, sugary drinks, and fruit juices with added sugar
- choosing foods with low glycemic index (GI) scores
- reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption
When to call for help
Ask a family member or friend to take you to the hospital or emergency immediately if you:
- Remain confused 15 minutes
- Are unconscious partially or completely even after having sugar drink or eatables.
- Continue to have low blood sugar despite eating adequate amounts of a fast-acting sugary drink or eatables.
- Ice cream and chocolate are not good choices of foods to treat low blood glucose levels. They contain fat that will slow the release of glucose into your blood and will not raise your blood glucose fast enough.
- The best thing to do in such a situation is to have sugar in simple form in emergency conditions like this. Because here, these sugary drinks will help you to quickly increase the glucose level in the body. You can also have pure sugar or glucose D powder, which immediately increases your sugar. Biscuits is also not a good option as you need to chew stuff which is again a wastage of time in the case of emergency.
Should I take an ice cream, a chocolate bar or biscuit to bring my sugar back up?