I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia. Does anyone else have it? I could use some information and advice since my doctor just told me to stop eating sugar, white flour, and to switch to soy milk. Is it really that simple? Can I never have chocolate again? Can I have it on special occasions? Any information that anybody has would be welcome.

How different is hypoglycemia from insulin resistance? I'd think that the diet would be very similar (given what Summer posted), and since they are both pre-cursors to diabetes???

Noodles (I love your name!) thanks for the suggestion. I am a chocolate freak, and it is gonna be very difficult to stay away from it. I'm guessing I will find it in a health food store. My grandmother had full-blown diabetes. She would cheat periodically with chocolate. Her cheeks would turn red. Looking back on the way she ate (white bread, ice cream, maple syrup) it amazes me that she never had a diabetic seizure. She was lucky that the insulin shots controlled her. I plan on behaving myself much more than she did.

Mousie, I am trying to do research on the internet. So far, I have seen nothing about insulin resistence. So, I don't know the difference. I have found a diet though.

Here is an article regarding Insulin Resistance that we have posted in the PCOS Articles area...Feel free to browse our articles forum for more enlightening articles. Here's the link:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=125



Insulin Resistance:
The Hidden Disease You May Already Have

You may already be suffering from one of the most common - and often overlooked - diseases to strike Americans.

It's not a deadly new virus. Not cancer. Nor heart disease.

It's a disease, surprisingly enough, caused by your body's inability to make the most of the food you eat. And as many as one in three people suffer from it.

Doctors call this peculiar condition insulin resistance or, with a bit more mystique, Syndrome X.

If the name doesn't ring a bell, the symptoms might: Feeling tired after you eat, and at other times when you shouldn't. Gaining a pound here and a pound there - and having difficulty losing them. Seeing your blood pressure creep up year and after year. And finding that your cholesterol does the same.

Insulin resistance is the chief characteristic of adult-onset diabetes, which affects an estimated 15 million Americans. It also sets the stage for obesity and coronary heart disease - even if you're not diabetic.

What can you do about it? The simple prescription is to eat right, take your vitamins and minerals, and exercise, because each reduces insulin resistance.

But as you might imagine, there's more to the story.

Sugar and Insulin: A Double Whammy

Doctors have known about insulin resistance for decades, but only in the 10 years have they gained a clearer idea of exactly how it derails your health.

Insulin resistance is caused in large part by the over-consumption of refined carbohydrates, such as
breads, pastas, and sugary foods. Eating too much saturated fat (found in beef) and omega-6 fatty acids (found in vegetable oils) also seems to increase the risk of insulin resistance.

Normally, after you eat a meal, your body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, or blood sugar. The presence of glucose prompts the release of insulin, a hormone produced in your pancreas. Insulin helps transport glucose from the blood to cells, where's it's burned for energy or stored.

When a person eats a lot of refined carbohydrates year after year, a dangerous cascade occurs. Insulin levels remain chronically high, and cells become less responsive - and resistant - to insulin. As a consequence, relatively little glucose gets burned and levels remain high. With chronically elevated glucose levels, insulin resistance evolves into diabetes.

Noodles, insulin resistance sounds a lot like hypoglycemia. I will research it further. Thanks!

See? I knew there were too many similarities in what Summer was saying and the diet she was describing and what those of us with IR are supposed to do.
Although, I must admit... while white flour wasn't THAT hard to give up, I cannot eat commercial wheat bread. I buy expensive bread now... one of the local supermarkets does these artisan breads... organic whole wheat sourdough or sourdough rye... Or if I'm home, I go to a local meat producer (they make MOST of their own lunch meats... all the hams and smoked meats, most of the turkey are their own, other stuff is all locally produced) which also has their own bakery. Their whole wheat bread is fantastic when toasted... smells just like a bakery in my kitchen.
I used to buy any old Italian or mass-produced thin sliced bread. And of course, I'm allergic to chocolate. I like soy milk, but when I can find it, I'll buy the Hood Carb Countdown. Not that I'm following a low-carb diet, but most diet stuff still has nutra-sweet, which I can't have... and the low-carb stuff uses Splenda. I can have Splenda, so I buy low-carb.
I just saw a new kind of low-carb/low-fat soy milk... I only like the vanilla flavor, and so that has more carbs. I keep the "stay fresh pacs" in the cupboard for when I forget to buy milk. I'm waiting for the new Special K (sue me, I like Special K... its crunchier than corn flakes!) to show up at the discount store near my mom's house where I buy my cereal.

Tonite was my first take-out challenge. I usually order the "diet delight" cheese pizza made with lite mozzarella. That is out now. So, I ordered a side of meatballs and a salad. It tasted good, and I'm full. The next interesting challenge will be Chinese. I won't be able to have the rice or the duck sauce. I don't think there will be anything on the Chinese menu that I like and can eat.