Hypoglycemic Diet Plan

Hypoglycemia can be a frustrating condition. If you don't know how to eat to manage your hypoglycemia, you can have sugar lows frequently. Not only are these not good because they drain all your energy, but they also damage your body. The good news is that a hypoglycemic diet plan is not difficult to follow.

Eat Frequently

To maintain your blood sugar levels, you need to eat frequently. To avoid weight gain, split your food intake into about six smaller meals. Don't go more than three hours without eating.

This can be challenging at first, but you can make this easier by carrying appropriate snacks with you at all times. This way, if you get caught away from home or other food when you need to eat, you can avoid a sugar low by eating a snack.

Foods to Avoid

Obviously avoid sugar. Sugar triggers the body's insulin response, causing the blood sugar to rise quickly, then fall just as fast. People who don't have hypoglycemia experience the high blood sugar but their bodies don't have the same crash as hypoglycemics do.

There are some surprising foods that you should consider ruling out of your diet. Not all of the foods trigger a hypoglycemic reaction in every hypoglycemic, but it's important to keep a food diary to determine if these foods trigger a reaction in you.

Avoid simple carbohydrates and highly processed foods such as white flour, white rice, white pasta, sugar, soft drinks, highly processed meats, ice cream, fruit juice, fried foods and fast foods and other junk food that contains sugar. Also avoid alcohol, coffee, herbal teas, caffeine and cigarettes.

You need to get really good at reading labels. Check to see how much sugar is in the foods you are buying. Anything more than 10 grams of sugar per serving is probably too much--you can see how you react to different products.

Foods to Eat

Be sure to include protein with each meal. Some sources of protein are nuts, dairy products--although avoid chocolate milk because it is very high in sugar--and lean meats. You can also use protein powder. Protein is important because it slows down the body's absorption of carbohydrates--sugar. This means that your blood sugar won't crash as quickly and will remain steady longer.

Eat a generally healthy diet. Include whole foods such as whole grains, vegetables, fruit (but add protein), lean meat, nut butters, nuts, eggs, plain yogurt and water. Some vegetables may trigger a hypoglycemic reaction, so keep a food journal and make sure you're not eating a vegetable that triggers a reaction in you.

Talk to a Professional

If you feel that you may be hypoglycemic, it is important to talk to your doctor. There is a simple test to see if you are hypoglycemic. Talk to your doctor about what she recommends for a diet but also ask for a recommendation for a registered dietitian, or RD, or nutritionist.

An RD or nutritionist can give you a personalized diet plan. You can help them give you a better plan by keeping a food diary. In your diary, include what you eat at each meal and what time you ate. If you feel bad, be sure to note what your symptoms are and what time they occurred. This information will assist your nutritionist in creating the best diet plan for you.