Nutrition Series: How You Can Prevent Hypoglycemia

The most important thing a newly diagnosed diabetic is taught in the doctor's office, is how to deal with hypoglycemia (what we in the bizz call "a hypo"). But it's not always enough for that person to know the signs and symptoms. That person's family and friends should know how to recognize them as well. 

Hypoglycemia is essentially extremely low blood sugar. This can occur when someone with diabetes injects too much insulin, or injects faster-acting insulin instead of the long-acting variety by mistake. 

Now, I'm sure most of you know what it's like to have low blood sugar. When you haven't eaten for a while, you get cranky, moody and tired. 

When someone with diabetes experiences a hypo, they might exhibit the following:

MILD: Sweating, trembling, dizziness, heart palpitations, drowsiness, weakness, hunger, anxiety, tingling

MODERATE: Headache, irritability, personality change, confusion, slow or slurred speech, poor vision/coordination

SEVERE: Passing out, convulsing

If you came across someone experiencing a mild or moderate hypo, you might actually assume that they're drunk. This happens a lot! They're mumbling, stumbling, sweaty and confused. Intoxication seems like a reasonable assumption! That assumption can be deadly.

I mentioned in my first Nutrition Series post, that the brain requires sugar. The brain really can't use anything else for fuel. If you're starving (for days or weeks), you will break down fat and protein, and make another type of compound that the brain CAN use, but you can't live very long on it.

So when someone is suddenly that low in blood sugar, the brain gets quite agitated. If it's not fed quickly, the person will pass out. They might even go into what's sometimes called a "diabetic coma". 

To prevent a hypo from getting that far, eating (or giving someone exhibiting the above symptoms) 15 grams of sugar, will usually keep a person from reaching severe hypoglycemia. Note though, that once a person has reached "severe", they can no longer treat themselves. This is the stage at which they pass out, and immediate treatment is critical.

Here are some examples of 15 grams of sugar:

• 3 tsp or 3 packets of sugar (dissolved in water)
• 6 Lifesavers (appropriately named, no?
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 3/4 cup of juice or pop/soda (NOT DIET SODA. This has no sugar!)
• Glucose tablets (People with diabetes who are at risk of hypos may have these around the house. If they are in the original package, it should tell you how many tablets is 15 grams. However, if you can't find this information, typically 4 tablets = 15 grams.)
  

Now, if things get really dire, and the person has passed out, feeding them is pretty near impossible without choking them. Besides calling 911, at this point you should be looking around for a kit or box full of insulin and other such things. Insulin would be murder...but GLUCAGON can save them. Glucagon stimulates the liver to excrete sugar into the blood. It has the opposite effect of insulin. 

Injecting a small amount (~1 mg) into a muscle should be enough until medical help arrives. I realize this is far beyond what the average person would do for a stranger, but hey...what if it's your mom? Or your husband? Or your kid?

You need to know this, it's as important as CPR.

If you have a friend or family member with insulin-dependent diabetes, ask them questions! Get them to show you how to test their blood sugar, how to inject glucagon, and where they keep their glucose tablets/Lifesavers. You just never know.
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As always, thanks for reading. :)

Have a safe and happy weekend!

Gina

Valentine's Gift Guide!

Before we jump into this, I would like to state that on Feb 14th, I will likely forget that it's Valentine's Day. I'll be at work, being busy and listening to people complain.


I'm not really a fan of Valentine's Day anyway. It doesn't measure up to the family togetherness of Christmas or Thanksgiving. I also detest flowers. For me, Valentine's Day means getting a big mushy email/text message from mom and then we'll all get on with our day.


However! I know there are many people out there who love Valentine's Day and plan on exchanging tangible representations of their feelings (gifts). For those of you struggling to think of a gift for your special whoever, do I have ideas for you! 

For the boyz:

1. A Glymm MAN subscription! (Say whaaa?) I know! It's brand-spankin'-new.

Basically, it's a Glymm box for the dudes that is sent out 4 times a year. I would assume it involves deluxe samples of cologne, shaving whatsits, and...hair gel?

Those 3 categories took me 10 minutes to think of.

Men are kind of boring. Do they even moisturize? No clue. 

In any case, if this sounds like something your male counterpart would be interested in, check it out! If you don't think so, at least check out the website...just to see the male model. Ha!

2. A fancy-pants watch for his fancy-pants self!

Everyone needs a nice watch, for job interviews and such. If he has hairy arms, I'd stay away from those stretchy metal straps. Yowza!

3. A nice pair of sneakers that aren't just for basketball or soccer. And aren't caked with mud...

Don't you remember how happy Forrest was when Jenny gave him a sweet pair of Nike sneakers? Mhm. I'll leave you pondering that one.

For the ladies:

1. On the makeup front, you will look a) generous and b) not like a Neanderthal, if you manage to pick out cosmetics that don't make her look like a clown or a disco ball. I know that's a tall order, but I can help! 

First, this brush kit is a limited edition travel kit, with gold handles. I kid you not. Pretty fancy gift for only $89 (10% off with code LOVE2012)! 

If that's too pricey, the non-gold-plated kits are exactly the same, and only $59! They come in a variety of colours so pick your lady's fav and you can't go wrong! 

Second, this super-romantic palette of colours is perfect for Valentine's Day (and the rest of the year too) with its soft purples and pale pinks. This is a little easier on the wallet, at $35 (again, with 10% off using the code LOVE2012).

Click on the pictures to see more information on the website. :)

2. Maybe your lady isn't into makeup (or has all the makeup she can handle!)? In that case, she might enjoy a soft scarf to keep her warm until summer. Go with black, brown or navy, those are pretty safe colours! If you're thinking jewelry, check out these necklaces! 

3. If she's a lover of books, I recommend anything by Greg Iles (mystery), or the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series (mystery with a whole lotta bad-ass)! Truly great reads.

Hope that helps! Feel free to contribute your own ideas, or tell us what you're planning on giving your significant person! We won't tell. : )

Have a great week everyone! xoxo

Gina

Nutrition Series: Gut Chemistry

I once utterly confused and terrified the cashier at an organic cooperative.

I'm not exactly sure what brought the conversation about, but I happened to mention that taking an iron supplement with milk wasn't the best idea. He couldn't understand why, until I told him that calcium binds iron in the gut and prevents its absorption. 

The poor boy had been under the impression that all vitamins and minerals were good for you, and there was no wrong or right way to get them.

Overall, that is true! Vitamins and minerals are all good for you, and as long as you're getting enough of them, that is a good thing.

However, you can have too much of a vitamin and mineral, and you can also manipulate its absorption by mixing it with certain foods.

Here are some examples:

Iron and Vitamin C (aka ascorbic acid):

To bring back terrible memories of high school chemistry for just a moment, iron (specifically from non-animal sources) usually requires a redox reaction to occur before it is absorbed by the gut. This can be inhibited by phytates, phosphates and oxalates (acids found in a variety of vegetables, grains and dairy). However, Vitamin C, being the excellent antioxidant that it is, speeds up this reaction and increases the absorption of iron.

Iron supplement + milk = less iron absorption

Iron supplement + orange juice = more iron absorption

This is especially helpful for those with anemia, iron deficiency or pregnany women, but applies to anyone interested in increasing their iron stores. Donating blood is a great way to check your iron status, since it's measured before all donations! I always love hearing that I have great hemoglobin levels.  I eat beef in the week leading up to a blood donation like I'm cramming for an exam. Mmm.

Canadian Blood Services

American Red Cross

Note: high iron intake is useless if you are deficient in protein. Protein is what carries iron through the blood, so make sure you're getting enough or your iron will be low anyway! 

Calcium, Fat and Oxalates:

This relationship is especially pertinent to sufferers of kidney stones. Oxalates can mix with various compounds in the body to form kidney stones, but absorption of oxalates can be inhibited by calcium. These two bind in the gut and absorption of both is decreased (so if you need more calcium, it's not that useful to chow down on spinach, which is also chock full of oxalates). 

The problem comes when there is excess fat in the gut, either due to increased fat intake or decreased fat absorption. Fat binds with calcium, forming a soapy substance. Since the calcium is already bound to fat, the oxalates are free to be absorbed.

So, if you're at a high risk for kidney stones AND you have trouble absorbing fat, stay away from things containing oxalates and eat more foods containing Vitamins A, D, E and K. Fat malabsorption leads to deficiencies in these.

*Excess Vitamin C can also mix with oxalates and form kidney stones, but this is only a real concern in those with existing kidney troubles, or people taking warfarin or heparin.

Smoking + Antioxidants

Oh man...smoking is just so rough on you. Forget lung cancer, you have just as much of a risk (if not higher) of bladder cancer! Trust me. You do not want bladder cancer. 

Antioxidants fight toxic compounds called "free radicals", which are produced by a variety of things and can increase your risk of cancer. We can usually neutralize these chemicals pretty easy with a healthy intake of antioxidants (Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, etc). However, the amount of free radicals produced from smoking is phenomenal, and all of those antioxidants go on a siege against them. They get used up pretty fast, and then there are none left for the regular free radicals!

We are told in our early nutrition classes that most people require a certain amount of Vitamin C per day, and that smokers need more. Yes, that's a legitimate recommendation. So that's all I'm going to leave you with right now.

If you're a smoker, and you insist on remaining one...I hope you're chugging orange juice and eating brazil nuts like it's your job. 

Calcium and Vitamin D

Oh, Calcium and Vitamin D. Brothers on the battlefield of bone growth. 

On a daily basis, your bones are being built up nice and strong, and then broken down and stripped for parts. Your blood likes to have a certain level of calcium flowing through it at all times. When it's high, you stop absorbing it from food and you deposit it in your bones. When it's low, it's taken from your bones and absorption from food is increased. 

The big trouble comes when Vitamin D is low at the same time as calcium. With low Vitamin D, the guts are not stimulated to absorb more calcium from your food. The only option left to bring calcium back to normal blood levels...is to steal it from your bones. Essentially, low Vitamin D intake/synthesis will lead to bone loss, regardless of your calcium intake. 

Examples of people who should be taking extra Vitamin D, are those on corticosteroids, folks with Crohn's disease or seniors (for bone maintenance). People who should be concerned about their Vitamin D status (aside from those just listed) are people with liver disease or kidney disease. Vitamin D needs to be activated in two spots (kidney and liver) before it can be functional. If either of these organs is compromised, no Vitamin D is activated and calcium is not absorbed. 

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There are so many more examples of nutrient/drug interactions, this is only a handful! Others include copper and zinc, or the effect of grapefruit juice on many drugs. I encourage you to read up on them! 

Be assured, this was not meant to scare you. For most of you, a balanced diet will help ensure that all of your vitamins and minerals are accounted for. However, if you have any medical conditions, known or suspected deficiencies or if you're pregnant, I encourage you to learn how your health can be affected by your diet and/or medications. It could make a big difference! 

Lastly, if you find a relationship I haven't mentioned, I'd love for you to leave it in a comment! How many can we find? 

Have a great start to the week everyone! :)