Reprinted with permission from Dr. Phil Bate. Visit his website at http://drbate.com/
One morning in the early 80's, I picked some oranges out of a tree in my yard, squeezed them into a 16 ounce glass, and had that as my breakfast.
I had my first anxiety attack about 3 plus hours later in my office. I thought it might be a heart attack, but no chest pain or arm pain, and I almost passed out. This worried my office manager. It passed after several minutes. When I was able to think clearly again. I realized that it was a hypoglycemic "dip" or "episode". That fresh orange juice was very sweet.
Hypoglycemia is a medical term for "low blood sugar". The brain requires large amounts of glucose, and when it goes below a certain point, a hypoglycemic episode occurs. This can cause almost any symptom up to and including coma and even death. In most cases, such a hypoglycemic episode only causes drowsiness or sleepiness, but fainting and passing out is not unknown. Also, as a result of a hypoglycemia episode, both adrenalin and hormones (testosterone and estrogen) are released. These combinations can cause undifferentiated rage in males, and anxiety/fear in women.
This may also be part of the current "road rage" and other sudden anger in men problems as well as childhood tantrums, spouse abuse, bar fights, etc. on the part of men as this mix can cause rage in men. This same hypoglycemia episode may cause panic/anxiety attacks, )mostly in women) and may even be a base cause of phobias.
It seems that if the blood sugar goes very low, and the body response is too slow, the person either may pass out or "nearly pass out". If the person happens to be driving over a bridge, this might cause a driving phobia connected with bridges. I've seen several such cases.
Glucose is the form of sugar in the blood. This has been transformed in the digestive process from other sugars and starches into glucose then passed into the bloodstream.
Hypoglycemia is usually caused by too much insulin driving too much glucose into the body cells, which depletes the supply of glucose available to the brain (and other areas).
Since glucose is as necessary to proper brain function as is oxygen, there are many different symptoms possible. These can range from a simple yawn about a half hour to an hour after eating, to a full-blown anxiety attack, or even a real depression (the term "sugar blues" has a basis in real fact), or even death for diabetics, or almost anything in between. Sometimes, allergies can cause similar symptoms, or even cause a hypoglycemic episode!
Too much insulin can be the result of a sugar overload, and this may cause hypoglycemia in "normal persons". To some "sensitive persons", this can be as simple as eating a doughnut or drinking a full glass of orange juice on an empty stomach. (Happened to me!) The response to low sugar/glucose is individual, and everyone reacts slightly differently. Also, one person can eat a dozen doughnuts one time with no bad effects, and have a hypoglycemic episode from just one doughnut at another time.
A simple example may help clear up some of the confusion around this subject. If a normal (whatever that is) person eats an apple, he/she will gain approximately the equivalent of 3 teaspoons of sugar. That apple is digested over some 3 hours in the following way:
1. As sugar is absorbed in the mouth, in the stomach, and the small intestine, the amounts are measured and the brain determines how much insulin to release into the blood. For simplicity, let's call this process a "sugarstat". While we don't fully understand how it works, we do know the effects.
2. From millions of years of evolution, the sugarstat "knows" that with the amount of sugar absorbed over a certain time it needs an equivalent amount of insulin, and releases that amount accordingly.
3. Now, it takes 3-4 hours for all the sugar to be digested from the apple fiber as it passes thru the digestive system. It's a downward curve, and the insulin released also has a similar downward curve, and it lasts about the same 3 hours in the blood, as it's used.
So, eating an apple has an immediate effect of raising glucose (blood sugar) somewhat, and this "blip" is fast compensated for by insulin release, and from that point the incoming sugar is pretty well balanced by insulin release over the three or so hours of digestion. The sugarstat is working as designed - there is little change in blood sugar as nature intended.
The situation is drastically different if we "pre-digest" the same apple by squeezing it in a cider press. In effect, all we have removed is the fiber, and retained all the sugar, vitamins/minerals, etc.One glass of apple juice could contain the juice of 10 or more apples - 30 teaspoons of sugar. Now, there is much more sugar absorbed very fast, and the sugarstat is "fooled" into releasing many times the amount of insulin actually needed as a result.
(Remember that for millions of years of evolution, we didn't have cider presses, let alone the "designer" apples of today.)
This "overdose" of insulin drives blood sugar into body cells at a furious rate, and even though the blip of glucose is now much larger, the excess insulin quickly lowers it.
Enough insulin has been released for 3 hours of digestion, but the sugar is digested in 15 minutes and into the bloodstream quickly. The result - too much insulin - enough released for 3 hours of this huge intake. The sugarstat hasn't had time to evolve enough to handle our relatively new "unhealthy" diets.
This excess insulin "drives" all the glucose it can find in the blood into the body cells (its job). The result - a severe shortage of glucose in the brain.
Now, since the brain MUST have glucose as well as oxygen for fuel, several body mechanisms go into action to raise the glucose. (Few people realize that without BOTH glucose AND oxygen, brain cells start to die in about 5 minutes).
The body defenses against hypoglycemia are many and range from release of stored glucose to release of some fatty acids and hormones that can be converted to glucose.
It can be seen from the above that hypoglycemia isn't really a "disease", but is quite normal for we humans not designed for our high carb diets. The effects vary from one individual to another. It's our modern sugary diet full of processed or pre-digested food that's really to blame.
These body defenses against low blood sugar also cause some very different symptoms in different individuals. Usually, this is about 3+ hours after eating a sugary processed meal.
One symptom that is not uncommon in women is an panic/anxiety attack, or even fainting. Men may also experience these symptoms, but less often.
An anxiety attack caused by a hypoglycemic episode while driving might result in a phobia of driving, or if driving in a tunnel, a phobia about that, or if on a bridge, a phobia about that. In practice, I've seen all three of these phobias generated by hypoglycemic episodes!
Men have another common symptom. The combination of testosterone and adrenalin may trigger "undifferentiated" anger in a man. He will have a "rational" reason for the anger, but bystanders can't understand how he got so angry for "no real reason". Men who change personality dramatically while drinking are of this type. This type is clearly shown as "pseudo schizophrenic" on the MMPI Personality Test).
I once helped to save a marriage by simply advising the husband to eat a handful of peanuts and raisins every two hours after lunch. (He was her boss, and at 3PM, she couldn't do anything right according to him - his lunch included a candy bar and a soda!!)
Anyone who has a sugar handling problem might be well advised to carry a bag of peanuts and raisins around, and make sure that they eat a handful every two hours or so. (ratio of about 5 peanuts to 1 raisin). The raisins will provide glucose within a relatively short time, and the peanuts will provide protein and fats that can be converted into glucose over a longer time. This was what I usually advised hypoglycemic sensitive persons to do, and it works well. Really sensitive persons should know to eat 6-8 small meals every day. A meal might be a hard-boiled egg, or half an apple, etc.
On a "standard GTT (Glucose Tolerance Test), an initial glucose measurement is made, then a measured dose of a very sweet drink is given. A half hour later and at every hour after that glucose is measured for up to 5-6 hours.
This test is more often done wrong than perhaps any other medical test used. These are the common mistakes made by medical practitioners and hospitals:
1. They just give the standard 10 oz bottle to anyone, and it's way too much for a child or a small person. There is a weight/volume slide rule that should be used, but usually isn't. At 6' tall and 200 pounds, I should take only 7 ounces! A fifty pound child is often given the whole bottle.
2. The measurements are too mechanical. I (and most other knowledgeable practitioners) believe that the patient should be advised strongly to let the person (usually a nurse) giving the glucose test know if they experience any symptoms at all from yawning to headaches, etc.
3. Between 3 and 4 hours of the test is the most likely time for most persons to experience hypoglycemia, even passing out in some cases. It is a good idea to test at the 3 1/2 hour mark, if no symptoms are noted.
4. Don't let the patient leave immediately after concluding the test. Have them eat some fast digesting food. I often used a small glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, in season, and out of season the handful of peanuts and raisins. I've heard stories of many persons leaving a clinic/office and passing out on the street, or perhaps had an auto accident.
This applies mostly to Glucose Tolerance Tests where diabetes is not the only factor factor. A fasting glucose test will find diabetes instead, and is much safer.
Checking every hospital and clinic along with some MD offices in the Orlando area, I found none that did the test correctly, and many made several mistakes. Be advised.
Please feel free to forward this email to relatives or friends that may benefit from it. Everybody knows someone with some "disease" that might benefit from the above.
Phil Bate PhD - Orthomolecular Psychologist (30+ years)
Inventor of (at home) inexpensive Neuroliminal Therapy
NT Solves ADD-Autism, Depression, and much more
http://drbate.com - drbate@bellsouth.net