Your Nutrition - by iVlyla Garren
Dear Student Body,
Once again it is my pleasure to
address you as fellow students regarding
issues on nutrition. I regret to have only
been able to write one other column-the
one about the importance of iron. A
handful of people have addressed me about
the particular comment of women being
“the weaker sex”—that it may be taken
offensively as an opinionated comment. I
would simply like to clarify that I was
speaking in terms of physiology only.
With a nutrition/exercise frame of mind,
that tendency is a naturally occuring one.
It is certainly proven that men perform
better physiologically. In fact, research
done on the most elite athletes reveals that
in the best performances of both sexes, a
margin of 10% can be measured succes
sively.
In that last issue 1 spoke of body
chemistry, and how that chcmistry can be
negatively altered by a deficiency of a
necessary nutrient. Even though many
minerals are needed in small amounts,
those amounts are significant to the overall
metabolism of the body. Imagine, then,
how an alteration of an element that is
needed in far greater quantity would affect
the body in a far greater fashion. That is
exactly the case with hypoglycemia—low
blood sugar. Before you cease to read the
rest of this article because you think that
low blood sugar is a rare case, I entreat
you, please read further, because it has
recently been considered by many victims
and physicians as a 20th century epidemic.
Perhaps a list of the symptoms
may strike acord with you so that you might
invest the time to read tliem:
concentration problems
irrilability
sleeping difficulties
anxiety
forgetfulness
depression
digestive problems
heart palpitations
mental confusion
restlessness
nervousness
exhaustion
temper outbursts
negative thoughts and attitudes
feeling of going mad, insane
mood swings (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)
waking up tired and exhausted
feel best after 7 PM
family history of diabetes or low blood
sugar (LBS)
...actually there are many others, but
those are the most significant ones. If you
wish to learn the others, please sec me about
it
To first give a general foundation
of knowledge to go on, I first inform you
that all the food you eat can be divided into
four major groups. The first is carbohy
drates, the second proteins, the third fats,
and, lastly, a variety of many nutrients
which are only needed in small quantities.
such as potassium, sodium, zinc, calcium,
and the key ingredient discussed last
time—iron. IdealIy,carbohydrates(which,
for you science majors remember are
polymer chains of carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen atoms) should be taken in a 70%
ratio in proportion to all ingredients.
Obviously this is the largest ingredient, or
food group, and next comes proteins and
fats, which depend on the individual, but
for the inost part are taken in at either
20%:10%,orat 15%;15%. Unfortunately,
the average American has a fat intake of
about 45%, and a carbohydrate intake of
about 30%, which besides lack of exercise
is the best account for an obese population.
As I mentioned before, those other ingre
dients combine to make-up 1-2% of the ag
gregate.
The issue I wish to address, how
ever, is particularly the carbohydrate in
take. There are two types of
carbohydrates-simple and complex. The
difference can be exemplified chemically,
but for the sake of saving those with no
tendencies to chemistry, I can summarize
that the complex carbohydrates are found
in their most vast quantities in vegetables,
whole grains, and fruits. The simple
carbohydrates, on the other hand refined
sugars, found in the form of table sugar, but •
also hidden in many processed foods such
as jello, white bread, cereal, and desserts.
Hypoglycemia, which is actually
a condition that results in thebody’sinabil-
ity to metabolize glucose, is caused from
any one of the following: under or overac
tive adrenal glands, liver disorder, disor
ders of the pituitary gland or thyroid
glands, tumor of the pancreas, trauma, or
excessive amounts of refined carbohy
drates in the diet. Obviously from the
background information given on carbo
hydrates, I am going to concentrate on the
cause of excessive amounts of refined car
bohydrates.
Hypoglycemia results when the
sugar level in the body (the amount of
glucose sugar, which is the form sugar
takes in your bloodstream) rises to a point
where the insulin level, which helps regu
late the blood sugar level, draws signals
from the body to manufacture huge
amounts so that it might accommodate for
the glucose. The insulin then becomes so
high that the blood sugar level (the ratio
of glucose to blood) becomes very low or
seems very low in proportion. Hence the
name hypoglycemia, which, by the way,
is of Greek origin, translated directly-LBS.
The real danger in an excessive
intake of unrefined or “simple” sugars, is
that they are highly refined, and as I have
even heard said by some, in a “predigested
form”. They are absorbed into the blood
stream much quicker, and produce a devas
tating effect when taken in vast quantities.
The average American can handle this ex
cessive sugar intake with no major compli
cations—without really even noticing it,
but many have suffered serious effects
without even knowing they are suffering
from a physiological problem, much less
the cure for it. ,
The reason I am stressing this
condition is not merely for the sake of im
pacting your life from an intellectual
standpoint, but because you or a loved one
could be suffering the effects of LBS with
out even knowing it. For 8 consecutive
months out of this calendar year I have
lived with a person suffering from this
condition, and have been appalled to find
the same personality traits resulting from
a physiological condition in both suffer
ers, and even have other family members
whose conditions provide enough evi
dence to conclude that a family history' of
diabetes and low blood sugar is definitely
my case.
Anyway, with regard to the physi
ology of LBS...The reason that the afore
mentioned symptoms are things which
involve mind and well as body is because
of the compound glucose. Glucose hap
pens to be the only form of energy that the
brain can use to function properly. It relies
on a steady intake of glucose through the
blood for its thinking process. The
thinking process not only involves con
centration on academic or intellectual
undertakings, but also the memory bank,
the power of reasoning, and mental and
emotional discipline on behavior patterns.
A book on hypoglycemia writ
ten by Edward and Patricia Krimmcl under
the advice of a physician, Harvey M. Ross
provides simply slated medical informa
tion and sympathetic practical information
on how to handle this condition. The
purpose of writing the book was to share
knowledge and insigh t as well as sympathy
and understanding for the sufferer or the
sufferer’s loved one. Mr. Krimmel is a
sufferer of LBS, and was diagnosed as
having everything and anything but LBS.
Many doctors, such as the first doctors who
diagnosed Krimmel have “passed it off’
and diagnosed it as stress, schizophrenia,
depression, neurosis, nerves, alcoholism,
menopause, and esp. psychosomatic.
Until he found out what was really wrong,
he thought he was going to go insane, and
yet the doctors wish to treat the condition
with nothing or with drugs such as valium,
which compound the effect. The
problem is that many physicians need no
nutritional background for their degree,
and are often unaware or skeptical about
the importance of nutrition in treating
physiological and psychological disor
ders. The truth is that the only way to
stop the continuous destructive cycle of
hypoglycemia is by a modification in diet.
Exercise will also produce an effect, but
most importantly and almost solely is a
reconstruction of the diet of the individual.
Fortunately, when your body is
suffering from a nutritional disorder, it
sends signals that express its condition in
the form of a food craving, or any of the
above symptoms. Unfortunately,
though, most often when a hypoglycemic
individual receives signals, they chose to
suppress or mitigate those symptoms tem
porarily by the use of a drug or an exces
sive sugar intake instead of by the proper
nutrition. They might say to themselves,”1
would love to sit down and eat a whole
chocolate cake right now,”or,”I really need
a cup of coffee. It’s the only thing that
could get me going.” This will also happen
with a non-hypoglycemic person who
simply feels the effects of temporary low
blood sugar. The role of insulin (triggered
by the glandular system, which, remember,
can also be a cause of LBS) in blood sugar
level, remember, is to help regulate by
contrasting to glucose. The brain’s mes
sage to the gland, however, is that which
activates insulin production. Drugs such
as caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine do as
well. Sometimes, then, whnaLBSperson
receives those “body chemistry signals”,
he/she responds by choosing a drug’s ef
fect instead of a nutritive effect. This ex
plains the reason why excessive
smoking, caffeinc consumption, or alco
holism become characteristic of the
hypoglycemic. The sad story is that it
only makes the situation worse, and gives
the victim a greater feeling of helplessness
and disillusion. I have seen this firsthand,
folks, and it is not a pretty sight.
The first step to change is ac
knowledging the problem. Mr. Krimmel
and his wife discuss in their handbook the
fact that his physiological condition
nearly ruined his life—particularly his
marriage. This was largely due to his
ignorance about the whole problem. He
testifies that with the patience of his wife
in understanding the situation and with her
cooperation is his attempt to make
changes in his lifestyle is what changed
him from his depression and helplessness.
It is also insightful to realize that
we live in an industrial society—no longer
primarily and agricultural one, although
we do, of course, rely on agriculture.
This industrial society is just beginning to
suffer the effects of widespread consump
tion of highly refined and unnatural foods.
The best advice to follow if you want to
keep from acquiring such a disorder is to
try as much as possible to eat foods which
are not processed and left intact. If you
know you are, think you might be, know
that someone you really care about, or even
strongly suspect that someone you care
about has hypoglycemia, I would be glad
to entertain questions and provide infor
mation on boods available. Basically the
treatment is to increase intake of protein
and fat, which can, if absolutely necessary,
be chemically changed into glucose, and to
do so frequently (like every 2 or 3 hours
in small quantities) throughout the day.
Of course it would be necessary to cut
down on simple sugars-preferably alto
gether, but at least considerably and
gradually to let your body adjust and re
cover.