I hear a lot about something called “reactive hypoglycemia”. Some doctors have told me it is the “forerunner of diabetes”. What does that mean?
“Reactive hypoglycemia” refers to the type of low blood sugar that occurs in response to ingesting concentrated simple sugar. The root cause is insulin resistance or insensitivity, which produces an exaggerated insulin response to the stimulus of sugar being absorbed into the blood stream from the digestive track. The timing of the low blood sugar after a meal that is rich in concentrated sugar is typically 1-2 hours afterward. The reason that this condition is sometimes called “the forerunner of diabetes” or “pre-diabetes” is that the insulin resistance that is the root cause of the condition is also the basis for the metabolic disturbance that leads to Type 2 Diabetes. Certainly, reactive hypoglycemia could be seen as an early warning signal that changes in nutrition and lifestyle should be put in place in order to avoid the eventual development of overt diabetes.
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