Comments on: ‘Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show’ Episode 144: Dr. Keith Berkowitz And His Low-Carb Hypoglycemia Theory

By: Jimmy Moore

Jimmy Moore — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 01:51:00 +0000

I spoke with Dr. Berkowitz tonight and he’s interested in doing a follow-up podcast because of all the interest in this. Send me your questions for him at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.

By: quotidianlight

quotidianlight — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 01:50:00 +0000

Jimmy, this was in my view the most important podcast you have done thus far. I have every single symptom the doctor described and had then even before I gained weight or went low carb. I am losing but I eat all day long and feel like h*ll if I have 3 meals. If I eat too late I can eat an entire fridge of food and still be hungry even as my stomach hurts. I wonder how many bulimics have this going on… I have told bosses in the past that I had to eat at my desk because of blood sugar issues but I thought I was making up an excuse cause the truth is if I don’t eat at work I will literally fall asleep at the keyboard! Thank you so much, I will have to do more research to make sure it doesn’t cause me to plateau and how to avoid triggering mass hunger binges.

By: Tara

Tara — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 01:49:00 +0000

This was SO helpful - I have had this problem my whole life, and low-carbing has helped immensely, but my blood sugar still acts weird sometimes.

It's hard to find good information about reactive hypoglycemia, especially from a low-carb perspective.

Does it happen to low-carbers just for the same reasons it happens to everyone else?
Where else can we find more info about reactive hypogycemia, especially for low-carbers?

Thanks!

By: Stargazey

Stargazey — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:28:00 +0000

I agree with Anonymous at 6:04 PM.

Frequent feeding looks like a good strategy to keep your blood insulin at a constant level throughout the day, thereby counteracting the symptoms of reactive hypoglycemia. But if you are already insulin resistant, wouldn't the continuous presence of insulin just make you progressively more insulin resistant in the long run? Eventually the constant level of insulin needed would be so high that your pancreas couldn't keep up without drug-induced assistance. Granted, it would happen in years and not weeks, but it is something to be considered.

If I were you, I'd get a second opinion. What do Michael Eades, or Gil Wilshire, or Mary Vernon think about the long-term advisability of using frequent feedings to counteract the symptoms of reactive hypoglycemia?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:15:00 +0000

Jimmy -
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Before I started LC eating, I ALWAYS had hypoglycemic symptoms – the shakes, headaches, the works. I lost 35 pounds last year on a LC diet. I stopped losing weight in September 2007. My blood work showed better and better numbers (e.g., HDL = Triglycerides) but no weight loss.
I started doing strength training with a personal trainer in March and have lost 4 pounds in the last three months. I’d like to lose another 35 pounds (my doctor thinks 70 – but I’d be ecstatic with another 35) and I’ve been very frustrated about the lack of weight loss.
I’m going to try eating smaller, more frequent meals and see if that helps the weight loss.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:04:00 +0000

Arrrgh, the doc completely glossed over the excess-insulin problem, and went right to the low blood sugar symptom.

I wish he had talked about insulin. Are people with this problem, the same ones who genetically squirt out more insulin per carb. Or is it something about how they do low-carb, that does nothing to heal insulin resistance.

The doc said he thought low blood sugar was "abnormal." What if it was a completely normal response to an excess insulin surge. Which we can get when meals are too big, or too much caffeine, or too much sweet taste from lc fake products.

When insulin is too high fat loss stops.

Small frequent meals can be one way to get smaller insulin rises. But it's not the only way.