mood changes and eating

[rei]

i've had some mild blood sugar issues (hypoglycemia) off and on throughout life. the last few nights i've noticed something changes in my mood, and the change may be something that has happened for a longer period of time than just the last few nights.

i usually eat dinner around 5pm, and by 8-9 i feel a little bit icky. hard to explain, but i know "icky" is not very specific. it's like a mild irritability or something, but i'm a night person so it's not tiredness.

could it be my meals are causing a spike in blood sugar and the crash is bringing on the ickiness? this doesn't seem to happen after other meals, but it could be that i just have a small snack before that same amount of time would pass.

ideas? in the meantime, i guess i could go grab some food and see if it helps. if it does, i know it's somehow related to diet. think i'll fix myself a cashew butter sandwich on whole wheat, yum.
(obviously, i'm not a raw foodie.)

[Razly]

Maybe the foods your eating have a high GI ?

What exactly are the foods your eating? It would help us to help you if you told us .

[rei]

well, last night when i wrote the message i had taco salad. the night before i had a tiny amount of steak with a baked potato and salad. later that night i ate some Pad Thai with cashews.

i normally don't eat that much red meat, but i have noticed this change in mood happen when i haven't had red meat as well.

i think it also happened when i ate pasta with chicken, mushrooms, and parmesan alfredo sauce.

[DerekMB]

You have insulin resistance then?

Tried excercise? Excercise/physical exertion get's the muscles moving. They start to take up sugar from the blood (Thereby reducing blood sugar) and turn it into fuel for your body. Make yourself sweat.


Cutting down on sat. fats and mono unsaturated fats can also help, though I wouldn't recommend cutting out completely as you need them to live. Likewise increasing your intake of omega-3s (Polyunsaturated fatty acids) can increase insulin sensitivity. Magnesium is also helpful according to some studies/research (I find magnesium essential) and, my personal favorite, arginine which does a number of things including higher insulin sensitivity and better circulation -Wonder Drug- I would also note that arginine, an amino acid, is in meat. I hear vegetarians have to take it sometimes since they don't get enough of it, not eating meat and all. I don't eat too much meat either.

[rei]

what is the connection between insulin resistance and hypoglycemia? as i said in the OP i've had a mild blood sugar issue for as long as i can remember.

is insulin resistance a different way of saying hypoglycemia? or is it a category that includes both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, as well as things like diabetes?

p.s. can i take a supplement to increase omega-3s? i bought one recently but haven't taken it consistently.

[Manomanman]

What are you eating? And is it garbage?

[rei]

no Manomanman. i'm not sure about the point of that either.

[DerekMB]

Originally Posted by rei

what is the connection between insulin resistance and hypoglycemia? as i said in the OP i've had a mild blood sugar issue for as long as i can remember.

is insulin resistance a different way of saying hypoglycemia? or is it a category that includes both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, as well as things like diabetes?

p.s. can i take a supplement to increase omega-3s? i bought one recently but haven't taken it consistently.

I find it helps to think of your body like a machine, much like a car. A car has many different parts for many different functions like the engine, windshield wipers, or starter moter. Just like you have to keep your engine fed a constant supply of oil to run smoothly, so too your body needs a constant supply of essential nutrients in order to function properly. It sounds like you eat healthy (Almonds, baked potatoe, etc...) but I am a little concerned you don't have a balanced diet. Have you ever counted out your calories and really saw what you ate on a daily basis? And it's not just enough to eat rite either unfortunately. Those minerals and nutrients we consume are to be put to use. Otherwise they just go right through us, like a car idling and burning up precious fuel but not moving. This is where excercise comes in. Not to mention meditation or just some kind of spiritual development in general (Yoga?). As far as the omega 3's, check the amount it contains and see what the recommended dosage is based on how many calories you consume a day. You may have to cut it in half depending on what you may need.

[ginkgo]

Originally Posted by rei

i've had some mild blood sugar issues (hypoglycemia) off and on throughout life. the last few nights i've noticed something changes in my mood, and the change may be something that has happened for a longer period of time than just the last few nights.

i usually eat dinner around 5pm, and by 8-9 i feel a little bit icky. hard to explain, but i know "icky" is not very specific. it's like a mild irritability or something, but i'm a night person so it's not tiredness.

could it be my meals are causing a spike in blood sugar and the crash is bringing on the ickiness? this doesn't seem to happen after other meals, but it could be that i just have a small snack before that same amount of time would pass.

ideas? in the meantime, i guess i could go grab some food and see if it helps. if it does, i know it's somehow related to diet. think i'll fix myself a cashew butter sandwich on whole wheat, yum.
(obviously, i'm not a raw foodie.)

Has a doctor done a 4 hour test to determine hypoglycemia? Or do you say this because of symptoms that you have seen?

[rei]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

Has a doctor done a 4 hour test to determine hypoglycemia? Or do you say this because of symptoms that you have seen?

i have not had the test, but if i go too long without eating i get irritable, sometimes get headaches that are different from other headaches, and i get the shakes. probably some other things too that i'm not remembering right now, but i have never fainted from not eating.

[ginkgo]

Originally Posted by rei

i have not had the test, but if i go too long without eating i get irritable, sometimes get headaches that are different from other headaches, and i get the shakes. probably some other things too that i'm not remembering right now, but i have never fainted from not eating.

Yes hypoglycemia is rare but toxemia is widely spread. See this from my webpage on fasting: "A woman I was talking to said that she could not fast because she had hypoglycemia (fasting blood sugar level too low). I told her that it was rare and when the body goes into a fasting mode it is common to have the same symptoms like headaches etc. Similar to how when a smoker stops smoking or an alcoholic stops drinking. In the fasting mode the body is getting rid of toxins at an accelerated rate and some of them have to go back into the blood before the body gets rid of it. With different people it takes different amounts of time for the body to go into the fasting mode. I told her the way to tell when your body goes into a fasting mode, the mouth becomes like an organ of elimination and your tongue gets coated, like when you get sick.

Later she wrote me and said that I sure knew my stuff. She had gone most of the day without eating and got those symptoms. She looked in the mirror and saw that her tongue was coated. I used to get those same symptoms if I went too long without eating. But after I started fasting that stopped happening. Fasting is nature's bloodless operating table. It gives the entire digestive system a vacation or rest."

I do not watch Dr Phil. But a couple of times I saw him saying that he would have his doctor check some disturbed people for heavy metal toxicity. That is one type of toxemia. One guy would have severe rage.

Here is more about toxins, fasting and mental health from fasting page.

"Gabriel Cousins, M.D., (psychiatrist and rabbi) says "I often observe in the fasting participants that by four days of fasting, concentration seems to improve, creative thinking expands, depression lifts, insomnia stops, anxieties fade, the mind becomes more tranquil and a natural joy begins to appear. It is my hypothesis that when the physical toxins are cleared from the brain cells, mind-brain function automatically and significantly improves and spiritual capacities expands."

Also from that page,

Dr. Yuri Nikolayev, director of the fasting unit of the Moscow Psychiatric Institute, reported on the use of scientific, therapeutic fasting to successfully treat over 10,000 patients, all suffering from neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and various neuroses, concluding: "The hunger treatment [as Soviet psychiatrists term fasting] gives the entire nervous system and the brain a rest. The body is also cleansed of poisons, and the tissues and the various glands are renovated."

Here is Dr Cousen's website. Home Page | treeoflife.nu