Langkau ke kandungan
Rotab Mazafati BamKurma Madu Segar
WhatsApp Tempah
October 30, 2022

Symptoms Of Hypoglycemia And Where Fruit Fits In

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have diabetes, follow the plan agreed with your doctor or diabetes care team, and if you get symptoms of low blood sugar without having diabetes, see a doctor.

Hypoglycemia means low blood sugar. The NHS page on low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) describes it as blood sugar (glucose) that is usually below 4mmol/L, and says it needs to be treated quickly to stop it getting worse, but that you can usually treat it yourself. Fruit does appear in the NHS advice, as fruit juice. This post sets out the symptoms first, then where fruit, and dates in particular, fit.

Symptoms of hypoglycemia

The NHS lists these symptoms of low blood sugar:

  • feeling hungry
  • feeling dizzy
  • feeling anxious or irritable
  • sweating
  • shaking
  • tingling lips
  • heart palpitations
  • feeling tired or weak
  • changes in your vision such as blurred vision
  • feeling confused

With severe low blood sugar, the NHS says a person may have a seizure or fit, or become unconscious.

Who gets low blood sugar

According to the NHS, low blood sugar usually affects people with diabetes who take insulin or some other diabetes medicines, and it is rare in people without diabetes. Diabetes medicines lower blood sugar, and the page explains that they can sometimes make it go too low. This is common with insulin, and it can also happen with some other diabetes medicines, such as gliclazide and glimepiride.

The NHS lists five things that make a hypo more likely for someone with diabetes:

  • taking too much insulin
  • problems with the way insulin is injected, such as injecting in the same place too often
  • missing or delaying meals, or not eating enough carbohydrate
  • doing a lot of exercise without eating more carbohydrate or reducing the insulin dose
  • drinking a lot of alcohol, particularly without eating

It adds that sometimes it’s not clear why it happens.

Without diabetes, the NHS names conditions that can sometimes cause it: malnutrition, Addison’s disease and a growth (tumour) in the pancreas.

The NHS says to see a GP in three situations: you have diabetes and get hypos often, have had severe hypos or have had hypos at night; you have diabetes and do not always recognise the symptoms of low blood sugar; or you do not have diabetes and get symptoms of low blood sugar such as shaking, sweating, a fast heartbeat and feeling confused. People with diabetes can also ask their diabetes care team for advice.

Where fruit fits in the NHS steps

For someone with diabetes who has hypo symptoms or a reading below 4mmol/L, the NHS says to eat or drink something that will raise blood sugar quickly, “such as a small glass of fruit juice or sugary fizzy drink, 5 glucose or dextrose tablets, 4 large jelly babies, or 2 tubes of glucose gel”. Fruit juice is the only fruit on that list.

The next steps are to check blood sugar again after 10 to 15 minutes, and, if it is still below 4mmol/L, to have another sugary drink or snack and check again after 10 minutes. Once symptoms have improved and blood sugar is above 4mmol/L, the NHS says to eat something that keeps it up for longer, “such as some biscuits, a sandwich, or your next meal if it’s due”.

Severe low blood sugar is different. If someone is unconscious, the NHS says not to give them any food or drink, because they will not be able to swallow safely. It says to put them into the recovery position and give a glucagon injection straight away, if one is available and you know how to use it. If they start to recover within 10 minutes of the injection and can swallow safely, the NHS says to give them some food or drink that will raise their blood sugar, and to stay with them until they’re fully recovered.

The NHS says to get emergency help if someone with very low blood sugar is not responding normally or is unconscious and a glucagon injection is not available or you do not know how to use it, they have not recovered within 10 minutes of having one, or they have been drinking alcohol.

Where dates fit

Dates are not on the NHS quick-acting list. One of the page’s tips for people who take diabetes medicine is to carry something that raises blood sugar quickly, “such as sugary drinks, sweets or glucose tablets”, and dates are not named there either. In a Saudi study of 17 date varieties at the tamer stage, 19 healthy subjects ate portions of dates containing 50 g of available carbohydrate, and their results were compared with 50 g of glucose. The mean glycemic index of the dates was 55.2, with a range of 42.8 to 74.6.

For people with type 2 diabetes who eat dates as everyday food, a 2022 trial randomised 79 patients to 60 g of dates or 60 g of raisins a day for 12 weeks, and 61 completed it. There was no difference in HbA1c or fasting glucose. The authors wrote that neither food “had a deleterious effect on glycemic control over a 12-week period”. That is a finding about daily eating, not about raising low blood sugar.

Fruit, and dates, as everyday food

The NHS 5 A Day portion sizes page says everyone should have at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day, and that an adult portion is 80g. Dates count. The 5 A Day page says “a 30g portion of dried fruit, such as currants, dates, sultanas and figs, counts as 1 of your 5 A Day”, eaten at mealtimes rather than as a snack between meals, to reduce the impact on teeth.

Whole fruit and juice are not treated the same way. The NHS limits fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies to a combined total of 150ml a day, and says “whole fruits are less likely to cause tooth decay because the sugars are contained within the structure of the fruit”.

Per 100 g, the USDA record for Medjool dates lists 6.7 g of fibre, 696 mg of potassium, 66.5 g of total sugars and 277 kcal. The NHS says 30g of dried fruit is equivalent to around 80g of fresh fruit, and the portion sizes page says dried fruit can be high in sugar and can be bad for your teeth.

For anyone who takes medicine for diabetes, the NHS hypo page lists three things not to do: skip or delay meals, drink too much alcohol (keeping to no more than 14 units a week, spread over 3 days or more), or drink alcohol without eating. On dried fruit in general, its portion sizes page says it is best enjoyed as part of a meal, as dessert for example, not as a between-meal snack.

More posts are in the date fruits range and healthy food picks categories, and the About page asks readers to get in touch for any enquiry or order.

References