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Wednesday, August 15 2001
Once again, I've made it up to a 10 !
I noticed that it's also important to eat enough carbohydrates.. I've been doing some calculations.
In the morning I ate 300g of broccoli@2.5%carb = 7,5 grams.
At lunch I ate again 300g of broccoli@2.5% = 7,5 grams. That leaves 4,5 grams to make it up to 12 grams at lunch. So I ate 20 almonds = about 25 grams of almonds@20% carb (of which a lot is fiber I think, but I'd rather stay on the safe side).
In the evening I ate the same as with lunch..
Result: No brain fogs at all during the day.. Worth a 10-rating..
I also slept fine..
I've meassured my blood-glucose at 4.8 mmol/l before going to bed.. In the morning it was 4.4. Before lunch it was 4.6.. Many non-diabetics would be proud of these figures !
18 mg/dl = 1 mmol/l, so multiply by 18 to get:
Before bed: 86 (4.8)
Waking up: 79.2 (4.4)
Before lunch (hungry): 83 (4.6)
I've noticed something else.. It's very hot in The Netherlands and I've been sweating very severely like I've never done before. After driving in the car for 15 minutes I step out to be almost completely moist !
I think this might be due to the protein-burning which burns hotter (more heat residue) than carbs.
Right now at 14:00 (2 PM) I'm going to take a dive in the swimming pool nearby !
Dr. Atkins and Dr. Bernstein, thanks a lot !
I notice my confidence is increasing, because I don't have to be afraid of having brain fogs anymore.. During verbal conversations my brain is finally able to keep up and as a bonus I'm also able to make some sharp points/remarks/jokes on the fly..
It's also a lot easier to find the right words during conversation.. That used to be a big problem during the many brain fogs I used to have..
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Tuesday, August 14 2001
Saturday I tried a double amount of Krysalis Sparx. Saturday evening I was burping a bit and there was some flatulence..
I think it's caused by the starch in the Krysalis Sparx (40% is starch).
Sunday and monday I didn't use the Krysalis and as a result I felt worse !
The Krysalis Sparx contains some magic ingredients that help me a lot with my hypoglycemia.. I will continue using it, but in a smaller amount (1 teaspoon a day).
I continued reading Dr. Bernstein book.. I will have to do some anaerobic exercise every day to create some more muscles. The muscles will use a lot of glucose and reduce my insulin-resistance.
The way to do it right:
Start with heavy exercise (the type that makes your muscles itch because of the lactic acid). When you can't go any further, reduce the weights and continue.. Repeat the reduction of weights until you're ready.. Next don't pause, because it will interrupt the anaerobic phase. Instead continue directly by doing streneous exercise on another group of muscles.
The next day, do the same, but then only the muscles that you didn't train the day before.. You'll have to split the muscles in two groups.. Muscles need a day to recover..
The next day, do the same as two days ago, etc, etc.. This type of exercise is a LOT more effective than the regular body-building programs.. Half an hour is as affective as 1.5 hours of regular body building !
In time I will have to find an alternative to Krysalis Sparx that doesn't contain the starch.
I will continue updating my diary, as I'm certain that I will continue to discover new facts... To be continued..
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Sunday, August 12 2001
I received Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution a couple of days ago.. I am now reading it..
It seems like I've drawn the same conclusions as he:
He states that diabetics (I/II/hypoglycemics) should eat no more than 30 grams of carbs a day. Breakfast max 6 grams, lunch max 12 grams, diner max 12 grams.
In the morning blood sugar is always higher (insulin is taken out of the blood by the liver), that's why only 6 grams carbs can be eaten in the morning.
I also learned a lot of new things:
High blood sugar destroys the beta-cells of the pancreas..
As hypoglycemia worsens, larger periods of high blood sugar are the result. The cells get more resistant to insulin over time AND beta cells start to die. Diabetes II is the result. As more beta cells die, Diabets I will result.. Check these graphs I made: 
I also read that only 5 grams of pure glucose is often enough to raise the blood sugar to normal levels when someone is in a very bad hypo. 5 grams is a very small amount, only a teaspoon. (I don't want to think about what 300 grams of carbs in 2 quarts of grape juice can do to someone)
When one eats a potato (warning: NOT SCD-Compliant, but only used as an example), the blood sugar rises to a very high level, that can't be corrected instantaneously by an insulin injection (by needle or by the pancreas).. It will take a long time for the bloodsugar to drop to normal levels..
The high blood are dangerous in many ways.. One of them is the reaction between glucose and proteins and glucose and fats.. High glucose concentrations will destroy complete cells and cell membrames. That explains why my skin looks a lot better now.
This also explains why heart failure is a very common symptom in diabetics.. The heart is a muscle and thus protein which is destroyed by the glucose in the blood. Many blood sugar highs are later followed by blood sugar lows in which case the body starts to burn protein as fuel.. The heart is consumed by the body.. Even more, potassium stores will be depleted really soon and this also causes heart failure..
I'm very glad I've been able to prevent further permanent worsening of my health just in time (I noticed I was drinking more and more every day.. Feeling dehdydrated = High blood sugars for extended times).
A note of warning to all SCDieters:
Don't drink the two liters of grape (or other high-carb) juices a day I used to do.. That must have worsened my hypoglycemia severely.. Instead of that, drink more natural water (no chloride and fluor in it ofcourse). Also watch out for large amounts of honey in your tea. Eating too many fast-acting carbs every day will eventually result in hypoglycemia of which the symptoms can get worse than the Crohn's/Colitis symptoms in the end..
This concludes my Hypoglycemia Quest !
(perhaps some fine tuning after having read Dr. Bernsteins book completely)
Ed,
The Netherlands
http://www.newtreatments.org
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Friday, August 10 2001
Yes, I've made it !
A 10-rating for today !
I slept like a baby last night for 9 hours..
No sweating at all, no waking up !
It seems like my personal quest is over:
* My Crohn's symptoms are gone because of the SCDiet.
* My hypoglycemia symptoms are gone because of restricting the carbohydrate intake to about 20-25 grams a day.
I think I've broken the vicious cycle:
Sleeping badly aggrevates the hypoglycemia and vice versa. Now I am finally able to sleep well and this will reduce the hypoglycemia.
I hope others will benefit from the information on this website.. I will write a report that will summarise my quest for health, that started more than a year ago..
Good luck and thanks for visiting my website (yesterday there were more than 100 visitors from all over the world)..
Ed,
The Netherlands
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Monday, August 06 2001
I've just read Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution. It's a really nice book.. Did you know that before 1900 heart diseases didn't exist..
Somewhere around 1890 Coca Cola, refined sugar and refined flour were introduced and 20 years later the first heart diseases were the result. The 20-years rule (after the introduction of refined carbohydrates) has been verified later many times (tribes that were late with introducing refined carbs)..
Some other astonishing facts:
A diet consisting of 90% fat, makes a person burn more fat than it consumes.. A person weighing 100 kilo, that eats 200 grams of fat will have decreased in weight the next day.
In Fact a person drops faster in weight on a fat-diet than when fasting !
Eating fat forces fat burning !
Fasting forces burning of lean body mass (muscles, also the heart muscle)
* Eating a low-fat diet with restricted calories has the same result: You'll burn your muscles and eventually die because of the depletion of several minerals.
The facts above have been proven in many studies ! The people advising the low-fat / high-carb diets are however very scared to admit it.. In fact they have caused many people to die of heart diseases, cancer and inflammations without knowing it.. Right now they're starting to see what they've done and they are very afraid to admit that...
There's also a chapter on hypoglycemia in Dr. Atkins book.. I will follow his guidelines and I am starting to feel better already..
I've decreases the total amount of carbohydrate consumption per day to a maximum of 30 grams. This means I have to eat less vegetables..
Spinach and Endive are no problem, but Haricots verts, leek, onions are a problem..
I can eat 300g of broccoli (2,5x300=7,5g carbohydrate). Leek is a problem because it contains 6g carbs/100g = only 150g per meal can be eaten.
I eat three meat+veggies meals a day.. I used to eat 3x450g veggies a day and I didn't check which veggies I would eat.. In the worst case, I could have eaten up to 100 grams of carbohydrates in a single day, which is way too much...
By staying below the 25-30 grams a day, the body will stay in ketosis / lipolysis (fat burning). No insulin is needed and hypoglycemia should occur..
More to come.. I've also ordered five more books about hypoglycemia and also Dr. Wolfgangs book: Life without bread..
More to come...
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Sunday, August 05 2001
I want to review my findings in the diary:
In the beginning I thought the DMSO was curing me.. In fact it was the SCDiet..
Most symptoms I still had, had nothing to do with anemia or iron. They were caused by the hypoglycemia: Night sweats, brain fogs, etc...
The brain fogs were causes by the grape juice I used to drink.. Then there's the different types of tea that I blamed because they were supposed to decrease the iron-uptake.. That wasn't the real reason.. The real reason was that I was putting large amounts of honey in the tea.. The honey was causing hypoglycemia and thus brain fogs.. (The cafeine in the tea might also have worsened the symptoms)..
The reason why I felt better when I went to a trade show or another event was that the exercise caused the burning of the excess carbohydrates I was still eating.. This prevented the hypoglycemia...
Sleeping in complete darkness is also helping me a lot.. Recent studies show that Tumor Necrosis Factor causes insulin resistance.. Melatonin is known to inhibit TNF production and thereby reduces the insulin resistance (increases insulin sensitivity) and thus reduces hypoglycemia... Melatonin production is increased when sleeping in complete darkness..
Sleeping in complete darkness reduces hypoglycemia !
Another study shows that children who've been sleeping with the lights on (which inhibits melatonin production), have deteriorated eyes (they can't see sharply in the distance anymore).. As a matter of fact, I've always slept in the dark as far as I know.. Although my eyes aren't perfect (-1.5 dioptry), it's in big contrast with the eyes of my brother, who always slept with the lights ON.. His eyes are worse than -6.5 ! Without glasses he can't work at the computer or identify faces..
I think I really needed to do this review because else people could make the wrong conclusions...
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Monday, July 23 2001
Update to the last entry..
Alanine is not the main reason why I feel better after exercise. When one exercises, the muscles use extra glucose and thereby reduce glucose-levels in the blood, which also results in lower insulin levels. It prevents hypoglycemia in that way.
Also, body building and heavy exercise has an extra benefit, because the new muscles will not be insulin-insensitive, so the overall result is that the person gets more insulin-sensitive. This prevents hyperinsulinemea and hypoglycemia.
I will receive the lipoic acid in some days. Check the studies in the links-section of the hypoglycemia page. Lipoic Acid in combination with exercise improvies insulin-sensitivity by 50 !
This is the way to go for hypoglycemics and diabetes II patients !
More to come...
Another update, regarding my intestinal health:
I used to have some mild flatulence, even when on the SCDiet.. That's gone now, because my hypoglycemia is under control.
The ten-rating is very, very near !
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Thursday, July 12 2001
I just came back from a game of tennis.
I went there feeling a bit brainfogged. Some time after we started to play tennis, my condition improved. On my way back home I felt really clear. Right now I'm sitting behind the computer at 22h30, feeling hungry, but not feeling hypoglycemia symptoms.
Quote to explain why this happens:
One of the most pronounced features of amino acid metabolism in muscle (at least in human muscle), i.e. the increase in alanine production as a result of muscular contraction, may be part of a mechanism to ensure the appropriate expansion of the catalytic pool of Krebs cycle intermediates as the drive to increase ATE production switches on.
In particular:
''i.e. the increase in alanine production as a result of muscular contraction''
Conclusion:
Playing tennis or (muscular contractions) increases alanine production. Alanine prevents hypoglycemia by the following two mechanisms:
* It can be converted into glucose in the liver
* It promotes the use of fat as energy source
Sources:
The Role of Protein and Amino Acids in Sustaining and Enhancing Performance (1999)
books.nap.edu/books/0309063469/html/244.html#pagetop
Muscle Metabolic Adaptations to Exercise
www.campbell.edu/faculty/bergemann/scott6.html
Alanine prevents hypoglycemia
www.newtreatments.org/Hypoglycemia/ga/135
I haven't been able to locate the alanine supplement yet, but maybe I won't even need it.. I'll keep you updated.
Ed,
The Netherlands
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Saturday, July 07 2001
According to the study, one should take 40 grams of alanine at 22:00 to make sure no nocturnal hypoglycemia occurs.
Read it here: www.newtreatments.org/Hypoglycemia/ga/135
The amount that's in Krysalis Sparx is really small. Two heaping teaspoons=20g. Wheat Germ contains 1,477g per 100g (source http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl). So, suppose half of the Krysalis Sparx powder is wheat germ (10g), then 147mg is alanine, but I think it's a lot less. Maybe only 5-10mg.
After doing this calculation I really doubt if the alanine was the factor that made me feel better (wrt Sparx powder). Maybe I had developed another vitamin or mineral deficiency that caused my brain
fog.
The alanine might however explain why I feel better when I eat some beef. Ground beef contains about 1,8 grams alanine per 100g. So, when I eat 200 grams of it, I get 3,6 grams alanine. This is still a small amount compared to the 40 grams, but it might have some effect.
I also checked the terbutaline, of which only 5mg is needed to accomplish the same as the 40grams of alanine. This is no option because of the side effects and the (un)safety..
I think the researchers have used 40 grams (a very high dose) to proof the point in the study. Perhaps it also helps a lot when only 2 grams are taken. 40 grams a day would turn out to be rather expensive: 40 grams of alanine costs about 7 dollars ( www.iherb.com/alanine.html )
I can't find it in the Netherlands, so I will try and order it somewhere else.
I've done a batch of searches on the Medline archives:
hypoglycemia+alanine, hypoglycemia+arginine, hypoglyecmia+(all other amino acids), ..., hypoglycemia+valine.
Results showed on these (amount of related studies):
Alanine(2), Arginine(32), Glutamine(1), Leucine(27), Lysine(1), Methionine(1), Tryptophan(2), Tyrosine(5)
Only alanine is used to prevent hypoglycemia. Sometimes hypoglycemica
is caused by leucine-sensitivty.
Some other quotes on alinine: Alanine deficiency has been seen in hypoglycemia, and alanine supplementation may be helpful in treating this condition. Alanine stimulates lymphocyte production and may help people who have immune suppression. It is also an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and may decrease excitation, such as that found in epilepsy.
http://www.healthy.net/asp/templates/article.asp?PageType=article&ID=1701
It may also help stabilize the blood glucose levels in people with hypoglycemia. According to Chaitow, suggested dosage is between 200 and 600 milligrams daily www.jomarlabs.com/alanine.asp
Alanine is an important participant as well as regulator in glucose metabolism. Alanine levels parallel blood sugar levels in both diabetes and hypoglycemia, and alanine reduces both severe hypoglycemia and the ketosis of diabetes. It is an important amino acid for lymphocyte reproduction and immunity. Alanine therapy has
helped dissolve kidney stones in experimental animals.
http://www.dcnutrition.com/AminoAcids/Detail.CFM?RecordNumber=128
Alanine can be applied in the stabilization of blood sugar with problems of glucose intolerance and jypoglycemia. Therapeutic doses of alanine range from 500 to 2,000 mg per day.
http://www.springboard4health.com/notebook/proteins_alanine.html
Physiologic Functions:
Antiketogenic
Cholesterol reducing effect when used with arginine and glycine
Contributes to thymus growth, indirectly increases lymphocytes
Essential in the metabolism of tryptophan and pyridoxine
Inhibitory neurotransmitter, paralleling the anti-epileptic effect of GABA and taurine
Inhibits post exercise ketosis
May be used as a source for glucose
Promotes phosphate and oxalate stone breakdown in animals
Released by muscle, it is a major energy source
Reduces triglycerides
Triggers the release of glucagon
Vitamin B6 deficiency will cause an alanine deficiency
Contraindications: None
Toxicity and Side Effects: None
http://www.natmedpro.com/nmp/Alanine.htm
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I think this property is most important for hypoglycemia: Triggers the release of glucagon
When I receive it, I will first try 500mg and increase it up to 2000mg if that doesn't seem to help..
Ed,
The Netherlands
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Friday, July 06 2001
Somebody from the Healing Crow Discussion Group gave me a tip: Checkout l-alanine for hypoglycemia:
I did some searching on L-alanine and it seems to help a lot with glucogenesis. As a matter of fact I've used it yesterday without
knowing it.
I was having a brain fog the entire morning. I decided to try the multi-vitamin supplement I got from www.krysalis.net (David Gregg).
Almost instantaneously, I felt better. In just seconds after I had consumed the powder, the brain fog disappeared..
I checked the ingredients list and saw wheat germ was in it. Then I saw that wheat germ contains a lot of L-alanine.. So that might be
it..
Next I found this study:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9250445&dopt=Abstract
Quote --------
OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that because of sustained glycemic
actions, bedtime administration of the glucagon-releasing amino acid
alanine or the epinephrine-simulating beta2-adrenergic agonist
terbutaline more effectively prevents nocturnal hypoglycemia than a
conventional bedtime snack, we studied 15 patients with IDDM.
.....
CONCLUSIONS: In patients with IDDM given an evening dose of NPH
insulin, a conventional bedtime snack exerts an inconsistent glycemic
effect only during the first half of the night, and bedtime
administration of the glucagon-releasing amino acid alanine or the
epinephrine-simulating beta2-adrenergic agonist terbutaline more
effectively prevents nocturnal hypoglycemia than a conventional
bedtime snack.
END OF QUOTE -------
Perhaps, I should do a medline search on all different amino acids in
relation with hypoglycemia (ie alanine+hypoglycemia,
glutamine+hypogycemia, etc)
The next time I feel a brain fog, I'll take some alanine (or alanine
containg food) and see what happens..
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