Reactive hypoglycemia can cause an array of distressing symptoms when blood sugar drops: sweating, shaking, heart palpitations, cold extremities. Most of the advice disseminated on the web concentrates on the type of diet (atkins, paleo etc.) rather than the actual make-up of the food stuffs in the diet. There's an overwhelming amount of evidence that switching to a vegetarian diet will aid in keeping hypoglycemia at bay.
The main culprits that cause blood sugar drops are simple carbs and sugars. Simple carbs and sugars are found in abundance in the typical american diet, but are typically absent from a vegetarian diet.
1. White bread, pizza, burger buns and other white breads are generally limited or absent from a vegetarian diet (for example, most cheese contains rennet from the inside of a slaughtered calf's stomach, so vegetarians do not eat it).
2. Spaghetti and pasta is eaten in limited quantities by vegetarians, mostly because they avoid the meat based sauces. Swapping noodles for whole grain pasta is a healthy alternative.
3. Vegetarians typically avoid processed foods because of the hidden animal products like glycerin and gelatin that make the majority of processed foods out of bounds. By avoiding processed foods, vegetarians avoid the sugar and high fructose corn syrup commonly found as an added ingredient in bakery goods, pies and frozen meals.
4. Pastries, muffins, candies, and cakes often have gelatin as a base. For example, gummy bears are made from boiling cow bones down and adding sugars and flavoring. By avoiding the gelatin, vegetarians avoid the sugar!
5. Restaurant meals: for a vegetarian, eating our is often difficult because of "hidden" animal ingredients (like fish and beef bases for vegetable soups). Most restaurant meals are padded with fat, sugars, and other ingredients designed to make you want to eat more.
6. High fat meats and the typical accompaniments (french fries, baked potato, potato salad) are blood sugar death for hypoglycemics. Avoiding meat often involves avoiding the fat, sugar, and starch heavy items. Meat analogies like quorn or vegan burgers are nutrient dense and low in fat.
