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Caffeine, Artificial Sweeteners And Hypoglycemia, can They Cause Low Blood Sugar |
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Caffeine, Artificial Sweeteners And Hypoglycemia, can They Cause Low Blood Sugar?
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Darrell Miller | 10/12/11 |
Date:
October 12, 2011 01:20 PM
Author: Darrell Miller
(dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Caffeine, Artificial Sweeteners And Hypoglycemia, can They Cause Low Blood Sugar?
Caffeine
Caffeine taken in a chemical pureness point of view is a plant based alkaloid which has the ability to stimulate the central nervous system. In its natural setting caffeine can sometimes be used as a pest control to protect other plants like cacao, yerba mate and tea. That should tell you about the power of caffeine. It causes these pests to die from overstimulation. Coffee beans have been the leading source of caffeine for humans while tea leaves and yerba mate plants are trying to catch up. In taste it is very bitter, a scientific study even showed that if caffeine is removed from the bean and reduced and made into a powder from it is the very scientific definition of bitter.
That is the reason why so many caffeinated drinks used for stimulation needs sugar to be added to help neutralize the strong bitter taste. In terms of caffeine being a cause of low blood sugar levels, it has some effect however more research needs to be done to determine if it exactly can cause Glucose to lower. The main relation of caffeine to low blood sugar levels is not really being the cause of it but the confusion is understandable as some of the overstimulation effects of caffeine are the same as low blood sugar level symptoms. Caffeine is not a sugar and will not directly elevate blood sugar levels.
Artificial Sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners are a great substitute for regular sugar because it is a low calorie substance compared to regular sugar. That is the main reason why many people call it sugar substitute as well. Artificial sweeteners are important to people trying to control weight and insulin levels spikes because of that low calorie characteristic while still giving that sweet tooth some satisfaction. Mainly, it is derived from sucrose, fructose and lactose however even though it is low in calorie it still should not be overused as it may still cause the same issues that natural sugar would cause. Amongst the USDA approved is aspartame which is the most used artificial sweetener in America today due to not having a bitter after taste like other artificial sweeteners does. Now when it comes to being a cause of low blood sugar levels it could not really because it is considered a non sugar so it does not really count either way, the issue though is that it still can affect sugar levels when ingested with other foods that it is mixed with. The problem with these fake sweeteners is they can cause headache in some individuals. It is wise to use no sweetener or stevia that does not elevate blood sugar.
Hypoglycemia
Glucose which is a type of sugar and is the most important source of fuel for the body is the main gauge for Hypoglycemia. When food is digested its sugar is released and processed into the bloodstream in the form of glucose. This sugar in the blood is what supplies the entire body of the sugar it needs to keep running smoothly, our brain and our nervous system all needs a certain amount of glucose to function. Hypoglycemia basically happens when glucose levels in the body is too low for maintenance of healthy bodily functions. So hypoglycemia is more of a symptom of low blood sugar level rather than a cause of it.
