Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: IBS and Hypoglycemia

Welcome to the boards, Bill!

I, too, have both IBS and hypoglycemia. And, yes, you are correct that Heather's diet is not really very good for someone with low blood sugar.

Like you, I cannot tolerate sugar at all. I had to give it up years ago because I would get dizzy if I had sugar (sometimes the dizzy spell would hit the next day). Diabetes is rampent in my family and some members, like me, had hypoglycemia before developing diabetes. (Thank goodness I'm not diabetic ... yet.)

The difficulty with the IBS diet is the need to eat refined foods (soluble fibre) such as bread made with white flour and white rice, etc. These types of foods are usually very high in sugar and a bad idea for someone with blood sugar problems. On the other hand, if you have IBS, these foods often make other foods easier to tolerate if you eat a soluble fibre staple like white bread or white rice with other things.

It's definitely a dilemma and I don't have any great answers. I've had IBS all of my life and usually I have to eat first for IBS and second for hypoglycemia because otherwise I would be in constant pain and agony. So I'm afraid I am guilty of eating white bread products (bagels and kaiser rolls) which obviously contain sugar. For rice, I stick to white Basmati rice which I understand is not as bad sugar-wise as other white rice. It has a higher glycemic count or something. (Someone once posted something about this on this message board.)

Otherwise, I stay totally away from products high in, or with added, sugar. So far my approach seems to be working. I don't get dizzy spells anymore and my hypoglycemia seems to be stable. My mom was diagnosed with diabetes when she was 40. I'm almost 48 and I still haven't developed it.

The other thing I do is keep my weight down and exercise regularly. I also eat small meals often --- all day long -- which also helps control my hypoglycemia and which coincidentally is also good for my IBS.

Hope this helps.

Belinda

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