Re: low blood sugar?/Mira

[Guest guest]

Hi Mira,

I haven't been diagnosed with CFS, but I have been a vegetarian going on 34

years, mainly vegan, so thought I'd reply.

I go thru periods- phases- where the impetus arrives to grab sugar after a meal;

choco., or whatever else is around consisting of sugar. I limit it to a bite or

two. I notice when I begin eating the protein portion of a meal first, then the

carbs, etc., after that's down, I have less sugar inclinations post-meal.

Have you asked your body what it wants? When I'm unsure, but hungry, I pause &

go inward a little bit. I get an answer most of the time. Maybe you could try

this, too. It works while wandering around a grocery store as well as standing

at the fridge. I know if I have to ask myself if I'm hungry, I'm not. You may

find your body drawn to wanting more of a certain vegetable, etc., which may

indicate a nutritional need for whatever the vege. contains.

I eat many small meals a day, and have since the '70s. That always made me feel

like a freak, but research caught up to me & showed that's healthy. I do carry

food on me at all times- " emergency food " - & keep it next to my bed. I never

leave my residence until I have at least a few bites of something in my bag.

There have been times my blood sugar has been so low I've had to make a beeline

for the nearest sugar source- like a cafe with coffee fixings on the counter- &

down a packet or 2. Those are times I notice I'm pushing myself unnecessarily,

which has made me unaware of increasing hunger, or putting eating off due to

being busy, etc. I, too, get the dizzy thing, which is a major clue I'm doing

things wrong. I'm hyperthyroid & exercise a lot, so I'm too thin already, & when

the dizziness comes, the hands shake, I can't think, etc.: in short, it gets

ugly. I can't imagine living with that every day. I realized I tend to eat very

fast, a habit I began as a child to get away from the table as fast as I could

because my parents constantly argued. Maybe you can trace some aspect of your

present relationship to food & ways of eating to a beginning you'd forgotten.

Some of this stuff is simple habit, stuff we can be unconscious of having.

One thing that branched me out was diet-boredom. I began buying foods I had no

idea how they tasted & if I'd like them. During that phase I discovered palm

hearts, matzo ball soup, seitan & other nutritious meals.

I, too, used to eat a lot of bread. I'm not sure why- maybe it was a fast

filler-upper. At some point, I figured out I needed to ask myself before every

mini meal, " Have I had bread today? " and if I have, I'll pass on the next bread

source, whether toast, cake, etc. This way I ensure my system more variety & ,

well, less constipation. Just staying conscious of moods, foods, how you feel

physically & otherwise may change what you take in.

Anyway, I think variety will be healthy, whether lettuce, fruit, tofu, etc. The

internet's full of recipes... I eat fruit every day, & I try to remember to have

some form of protein. People have different nutritional needs- I don't actually

need to eat protein every day but I will miss blueberries, etc. So far I'm not

diabetic.... we'll see how the future goes.

Best of luck, & congrats on your long-term dietary choice! May you find more

benefits as time goes on.

p.s. here's a recipe, but I forget the exact amounts/measurements used.

Tofu (NOT FRESH. For this recipe only use the not-refridgerated tofu in the

small box if your country sells it. Firm or soft, no matter. I use firm or extra

firm)

Real vanilla extract

Real maple syrup

A fresh orange or tangerine

Almond butter, preferably smooth. can't be any other, like peanut butter.

Dash of sea salt

Find a blender & put it all in, except for the orange. Just squeeze a teaspoon

or 2 in the blender. If you have no blender, just mix it all by hand.

Now put in the fridge. Let it get pretty cold.

Find strawberries. It goes best with those, but apples, etc., will work. Can be

used as a cracker spread, too, etc.

Eat.

99% of the time I eat fresh tofu, but for this recipe, yuck. I've tried

fresh.... not good.=)

>

>

> Dear Group,

>

> Maybe some of you have had this problem in the past, and have gotten over it

with some special method that I do not yet know about. I get up in the morning

quite early because I have a lot of cats who wake me up at 5 am or 6 am. I have

breakfast between 6 am and 7 am, which consists of Polish rye bread with

tomatoes. I have herbal tea with this since I usually cannot tolerate the

regular kind of tea because I can have heart palpitations afterwards. At about

11 am I am so dizzy and weak, because either my sugar is low or I am then very

hungry. So I have a roll with a small bottle of juice. I often have a candy bar

instead of the roll and that keeps me steady for another hour or so. Then I have

lunch with consists of pasta with spinach or kasha with a vegetable. Now that is

really upsetting is that I once I have lunch, I have to wolf down a whole

chocolate bar to finish off the lunch. I just need the chocolate right after the

lunch or at 11 am when my sugar goes down. If I do not have the chocolate after

lunch I feel weak and I have to go bed for a few hours. For my evening meal I

have bread and my soy spread. Before that I have fruit either oranges, apples

or bananas right now. I can have the chocolate cravings throughout the day, but

I try to control those.

>

> As you all aware by now I am almost a vegan. I do eat eggs a few times a week,

but I cannot tolerate milk or milk products. After seeing a homeopathic doctor I

developed an allergy to milk! I used to eat cheese, yogurt and all of those good

things, but now they make my sinuses swell up which can lead up to a sinus

infection and the use of more antibiotics.

>

> As I am typing this, I am becoming aware that perhaps I am not eating enough

fruit. I have asked my doctor in New York City if it makes a difference to my

CFS is I am almost a vegan, he said that at this point it makes no difference at

all. So please do not write back and say that I am not taking care of myself

when I am not eating meat. I will not be a part of the industry that hurts

animals and that is all that I can say about it. I half Indian and as an adult

in my forties I decided to practice Hinduism, which was the religion of my

father.

>

> I moved back to Poland about 6 years ago after living 35 years in the US. My

mother was Polish and I was born here. I live on the edge of a Polish village

with a farm on the other side of the woods across my street. The air and the

environment are still very clean and it is very quiet.

>

> I have had blood sugar tests here in Poland. I had both tests done, that is,

the one where the sugar is tested without having breakfast and the one that

tests the sugar before after breakfast. All came out to be quite good. There are

not that many medical tests available in Poland as are available in the US. So I

am looking for a way to manage my problem on my own.

>

> I wish that I could stop myself from wolfing down that chocolate bar every day

after lunch. The problem with the craving for sweets right after a main meal

started before I had CFS but now they have become quite pronounced. I have

gained about 15 lbs or more, because of this and many of my clothes do not fit

right now. When I lived in the US I used to take Chromium three times a day and

this used to control my sugar cravings. Now when I use Chromium I feel much

weaker and my CFS seems to get worse. I am getting worried because I have a very

serious heart attack history in my father's family and most of the fat is now

located around my waist which means that my heart can be at danger.

>

> I have had CFS for the past 21 years. Did any of you have this problem with

chocolate cravings and how did you deal with it?

>

> Mira S. Ghoshal

>

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