Take Mood Swings Seriously

“Vicki” complained of feeling irritable, tired, depressed, and unable to concentrate—and she had a raging sweet tooth. Her diet consisted mainly of refined carbohydrates. Because her symptoms struck about two hours after eating, it wasn't hard to pinpoint her problem as hypoglycemia.

Hypoglycemia means low blood sugar. As in Vicki's case, it is often diet-related. When you eat refined and other high-glycemic index carbohydrates, they are quickly absorbed into your bloodstream, insulin is secreted, and your blood sugar levels are driven down.

In people who are genetically susceptible to blood sugar abnormalities, or when this scenario is repeated day after day, year in and year out, blood sugar control mechanisms are thrown out of whack, and levels often remain low, rather than returning back to normal. This results in the characteristic mood swings, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, concentration difficulties, and food cravings.

Notice how most of these symptoms are emotional or mental? It's because the brain is fueled by large amounts of glucose, so low blood sugar makes quite an impact. However, the most disturbing aspect of hypoglycemia is that it is often a harbinger of diabetes and puts one at increased risk for developing that more serious blood sugar disorder.

Hypoglycemia responds exceptionally well to diet modifications, specifically a low glycemic index diet. Chromium is also helpful. In a study by Dr. James Anderson from the University of Kentucky, women with hypoglycemia given 200 mcg of chromium daily for three months had reduced hypoglycemic symptoms, improved glucose tolerance, and an increase in the number of insulin receptors.

In addition to dietary changes, I recommend that those of you with hypoglycemia take 200 to 400 mcg of chromium picolinate daily. Give diet changes a fair shake, but if you're still troubled with low blood sugar after two months, add another 200 mcg of chromium picolinate daily.