Diabetes consists of three major stages: High, Normal, and Low. When a diabetic is "high" that means their blood sugar level is higher than normal. Symptoms of that include frequent urination, thirst, agitation, and nausea. "Normal" means their blood sugar level is just where it needs to be and they feel wonderful. A "low" blood sugar is just that: A blood sugar level lower than usual. Those symptoms include nausea, shaking, sweating, hunger, and confusion.
I would like to focus this post on the term "Low" and what it really means for a diabetic. When someone is low, the solution is to get sugar into the blood stream. The easiest way to do that is to eat. Sounds nice, doesn't it? "I don't feel good; that gives me an excuse to eat sugary foods. Yay!" ...Not so much. While sugary foods like soda, candy, and syrup sound like the best solution, they're not. Those sugars make blood sugar levels skyrocket, then drop them like a rock. The diabetic will go high, and then end up low again. Complex carbohydrates or carbs with protein work the best, such as bread or milk. Also, glucose tablets made especially for low blood sugars work well (although, often the flavors are disgusting). If you're required to eat, who wants to eat those types of foods? But, you have to.
Also, what about the diabetics who are dieting? Imagine that thought process: "Oh great, I'm low. That means I have to eat, which means I have to use some of my calorie budget for dinner or risk going over." What if you're dieting with a friend? "Dude, why are you eating? Are you going low on purpose so you can eat?" What an awful accusation! I know what a great comeback would be: "Yes, I'm making myself feel shaky and sick on purpose so I can eat more food than I'm supposed to." No!
Going low isn't fun. Most of the time it just interrupts what the person's doing (Murphy's law says that a diabetic will go low at the most inconvenient times) and makes them eat when they don't want to. Often it happens in the middle of the night, so they are required to have a 2 am snack, then stay up for 15 minutes to make sure it works. Sometimes it takes two or three snacks to get their blood sugar level rising. By that time it's nearly 3 am, and they've lost an hour of sleep.
Be patient with your diabetic friends and family. If they go low, encourage them not to put off fixing it (because sometimes they will; they won't want to stop what they're doing to take care of themselves). Offer them food if they have none, and don't get frustrated if they don't have anything on them. No one plans on going low. Don't hesitate to eat with them; make it fun for them, instead of a chore that has to happen before you can have fun again. Don't make them feel guilty for going low; it's not their fault. Sometimes overdoses on insulin or unexpected exercise happens; while those are mistakes they made, going low is punishment enough. They don't need someone else riding them on having to eat.
For the diabetics reading: Here are a list of some foods that are more enjoyable to eat when you're low, because they have the complex carbs or proteins with a yummy food. (Most of these you just have a small serving, because it's more than the usual 15 carbs.)
Chocolate Milk
Bread with Jam, Honey, or Peanut Butter
Tortilla Chips and Salsa
Yogurt
Granola Bars
Fruit
Smoothie (Add veggies for extra nutrition)
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