Other Health Articles and Email Responses

Response to an email received 8/11/13:

I'm not certain that I am the one who you meant to contact. I closed out my yahoo account some years ago. However, I have put several articles on the internet regarding dealing with hypoglycemia, and so perhaps I am the one. At any rate, it is me that you have contacted.

A good carb chart can be found at:
http://thefoodchart.com/carbohydrates-food-chart.php

Pretty much any reputable health and diet information that you read now-a-days reinforces the importance of eating as many fruits and vegetables as you can on a daily basis. Further, hundreds of sources will tell you that cooking destroys nutrients and proteins and converts them into carbs - not good. The longer you cook something, the more it becomes just trash to your body.

Fact to remember - hypoglycemia is simply a sign of an over-taxed liver and immune system, so cleaning up your inner body and keeping it that way is the cure. When you keep your intake clean, then your body doesn't have to do it after you ingest what amounts to trash.

Complex carbs found in whole grains are good for us, but simple carbs such as those found in refined, processed foods are very bad for us - not only when dealing with hypoglycemia, but also just in our human bodies in general. So, try to stick to a diet of raw (or only slightly cooked - no longer then 5 minutes) vegetables, fruits and whole grains (hot cereals, of course, will need to be cooked longer). If you eat meats, make every effort to eat only flesh foods that are from healthy animals and fish - grass fed beef, free-range poultry and wild caught fish.

On the vegan side - nuts and legumes of any kind are high in protein and necessary fats; sesame seeds and buckwheat are two of the many vegetarian items that are high in protein and also contain ALL the amino acids, as do almonds.

Avocados are especially important to someone with hypoglycemia because they are high in protein, amino acids and important fats that are necessary to break down proteins. But, they also contain a seven carbon sugar that helps to keep blood sugar levels on an even keel.

Above all, stay strictly away from high carb foods such as refined flour and sugars. There are many good reasons they are known as "the white poisons" to nutritionists. Also. completely avoid foods (mainly preprocessed ones) that have hidden sugars in their ingredients. Stay away from high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils - our bodies simply can't properly digest them and therefore, they are some of the leading causes of many, many health problems. And, stay away from all forms of soy. It has been found that the highly processed soy and soy lecithin that is in almost everything today actually inhibits the body's ability to absorbs nutrients, calcium and proteins. (The highly processed tofu of today is a far cry from the old fashioned tofu used in very small quantities by ancient Chinese.)

I would like to make a suggestion that may prove helpful to you. Many years ago I began blending together various fruits and vegetables in a blender and then drinking them with meals and as snacks. Now my whole family has discovered what an easy way it is to get their veggies - quick and simple, without all the chewing. Also, recent nutritional research has found that when we eat pureed foods our bodies are able to get more nutrition and micro-nutrients from them than when we just chew them ourselves.

I suggest pureeing rather than juicing because by pureeing we get the whole plant - the fiber, the bulk proteins, etc. and not just the juice.

My usual whole food puree recipe is as follows and makes about one gallon that can be refrigerated and consumed over the course of one or two days. It produces a whole vegan meal in a glass. And in your condition, your body will probably find it easy to tolerate. I hope you will give it a try. Also, give yourself permission to experiment with various combinations of your favorites that you think will go well together. Just remember these rules of thumb: nuts for protein; avocados for protein and they make a great emulsifier that keeps the bulk from separating from the juice as you drink a glass. If you are doing a fruit smoothie a piece of banana about three inches long works as an emulsifier as well. Just remember that bananas, grapes and melons are amoung the fruits that are highest in natural sugars and limit their use in your diet. And if a little extra sweetener would make things taste better, use only a natural one like stevia, agave or birch sugar (also known as Xylatol). I prefer a product called NuStevia.

When experimenting with your own ideas, remember that unless you plan to drink the mixture right away, stick with fruits and vegetables that keep well in the refrigerator when cut. Items that perish quickly should just be eaten without blending.

Okay, the whole meal in a glass recipe:
First wash and cut up all the ingredients (hard items no larger than an inch) and place them in a large bowl all mixed up together. Then take your blender and fill the pitcher up to about two inches from the top and fill with good, clean, filtered water to where the tops of the veggies are just beginning to get covered. Remember, the point is to drink veggies, not overly watered down veggies. Add a bit of water if the mixture seems too thick as it blends. I look for a funnel hole at the center of the spinning mixture that is about one inch in diameter. When nicely liquified and smooth, pour this batch into a gallon container and do it again until all the veggies have been blended. Make sure your lid is on tight and shake well (or stir until well mixed if you prefer) and enjoy.

Ingredients:
One medium avocado (Avocado thickens and whips up when blended, therefore distribute it evenly throughout the blending - something like 1/4th to a blender cup.)
2/3 cup nuts or mixed nuts (I use 1/3 cup walnuts (high in omega 3s) and 1/3 cup almonds (high in amino acids)
One or two small to medium tomatoes
One medium cucumber
One large carrot
One piece of sweet potato about two to three inches long (the darker colored ones are higher in cancer preventing / fighting compounds)
Two medium sized leaves of kale (high in protein - as are all dark green leafy vegetables)
Three or four leaves of Napa Cabbage (the cabbage family of plants are high in cancer preventing / fighting compounds and Napa doesn't have that cabbagey taste)
One medium sweet bell pepper (remove center and seeds - they make the mixture have a weird consistency)
One large apple (cored or not)
One medium orange or two tangerines - peeling included (I use a couple of 'Cuties' brand tangerines. The vitamin C not only helps you, it also helps the mixture keep its taste and color better)
One medium stalk of celery (that's one piece, not the whole bunch)
Two or three small radishes

A note about blenders (I prefer an Oster Beehive): make sure that the blades are two upward and two downward. You need a blender that can liquify hard vegetables. I have also found that blenders with lots of speed settings don't last as long as ones that have only high speed and pulse, and since you are going to liquify everything by using the highest speed, the other settings are usually not necessary.

A word about milk - while milk is not altogether good for adult beings, I and others have found that if you get into trouble and your blood sugar is falling through the floor, a glass of milk is one of the best things to rescue you and get things leveled out. Also, since it takes your body about an hour to digest a glass of milk, it can be used to slow down the absorption of carbs. But, remember that milk in excess causes excess mucus (because your body must produce mucus in order to digest milk) and it will set up inflammation in your body that can cause all sorts of pains and aches. Also, recent studies have revealed that milk, rather than helping, is one of the leading causes of osteoporosis because the proteins in milk require calcium to digest - more calcium than is in the milk. Therefore, your body steals calcium from your bones in order to digest the milk. That said, it still is a good rescuer if your blood sugar is refusing to come up and stay there.

Please feel free to email me back if you have the need.

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Response to an email received 8/12/13:

Another 'smoothie' recipe that we often have for breakfast is:

Half an avocado
Half an apple, peach, pear or other fruit
About 6 to 12 strawberries or 2/3 cup blueberries (blackberries and raspberries are yummy, but can leave lots of seeds in the bottom of your glass)
2/3 cup of nuts (like the veggies mixture, I use 1/3 cup raw walnuts and 1/3 cup raw almonds)
2 packages of NuStevia (or other natural sweetener - you can also use raw sugar or honey if you're making it for someone who is not hypoglycemic or diabetic)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

If you want to drink the smoothie right away, place about 6 ice cubes in the top of the blender pitcher before blending.

Then, fill the blender pitcher with pure, clean, filtered water to about two inches from the top and blend until smooth.

Makes two large smoothies.

We often wonder why we eat and are still hungry. It's because what we have eaten is either causing us to be hungry because it or the synthetic chemicals that have been added to it are blocking the absorption of nutrients, or what we've eaten was just trash and our bodies are still hungry for real food. Most obesity is caused by this - we eat, but our bodies are still hungry.

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