Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, to give it a proper medical term, is a disorder of blood sugar metabolism. It is a condition in which the penance produce excessive insulin, causing the blood sugar to drop. This may result in diabetes in later life.
Hypoglycemia sometimes occurs in healthy people some hours after a meal rich in carbohydrates, especially following muscular exertion. It is frequently found in the first few days of life, especially in premature infants.
Hypoglycemia is a serious disorder as the brain cannot function properly when the blood sugar level is too low. Like all other organs of the body, the brain receives its fuel from the diet. But it can use only the sugar produced by the body from the carbohydrates. Unlike many other body tissues, it cannot stores its fuel.
Therefore, it must get a constant supply of sugar through the blood stream. Mental disturbances caused by low blood sugar levels can seriously affect a person’s life and repeated attacks of hypoglycemia may lead to permanent mental changes.
Symptoms
A craving for sweets and starches in excessive amounts between meals is the first sign of a low blood sugar level. When the blood sugar level falls much below normal , symptoms such as palpitations, excessive sweating, nervousness, irritability, fatigue, depression, disturbed vision and headache appear. Other symptoms are trembling, numbness, absent-mindedness, dizziness, and some sexual disturbances.
Most patients feel hungry and eat frequently to get over the feeling of weakness and emotional irritability. They feel tense if they have to go without food for several hours. The onset is sudden and the patient may quickly become confused and clumsy . If the condition is not treated promptly, he may become unconscious or very sleepy.
Causes
Low blood sugar is usually caused by an excessive intake of refined foods, sugar and sugary foods as well as soft drinks, cola drinks and coffee. These substances cause the pancreas, the adrenal glands and the liver to lose their ability to handle the sugar properly. An attack of hypoglycemia may be precipitated by the administration of insulin or similar drugs without adequate carbohydrate coverage during the treatment of diabetes mellitus.
Other causes of low blood sugar are tumours of the islet cells of pancreas which secrete insulin, disturbed functioning of the liver, pituitary gland or adrenal glands. Stress intensifies this condition as it weakens the adrenal glands and starts a faulty pattern of glucose intolerance.