[at-l] Re: Hiking foods for low blood sugar wheat sensitives long

[delita@mindspring.com (Delita Wright)]

Long again.  Delete now if not interested.
Delita

Bob Cummings wrote:

> "... I don't do well on any packaged breakfast cereals I have found, although I
> > sometimes eat bulk, store brand (whole foods grocery) muesli, and *beef it up*
> > with extra protein, maybe some more oats, etc. ... I do well on hot cereals -
> > but not instant oatmeal..."
>
> As I understand it, the difference between regular rolled oats, quick cooking
> oatmeal and instant oatmeal -- aside from an enormous difference in price -- is
> the size of the oat flakes. Instant has been rolled into tiny bits. Quick
> cooking into larger bits, regular into large bits.

Weary, you hit it on the head.  It is the size difference that makes the
difference.

There are 3 kinds of hypoglycemia that I know of.  One is the *usual* kind (my
term) and is the one where your body doesn't produce enough insulin to handle
breaking down the sugars in your blood stream.  These people need to limit the
sugars (carbs) they eat, and seem to eat protein all the time.

I didn't have that; I had *reactive* hypoglycemia.  My body would over-produce
insulin in response to sugar in my bloodstream, thus causing my blood sugar to drop
too low.  I had to watch my sugar and proteins, too, but as long as I ate *right*
enough, my body wouldn't *over-react,* zealously wiping out my blood sugar with a
burst of excess insulin.  I could be *stable* as long as I didn't skip meals or eat
too much sugars and other simple carbs and did eat protein regularly.

But I also had a third kind, called *exercise-induced* hypoglycemia.  It didn't
take just eating wrong to make me *crash,* simple exercise had the same effect,
even if I had been eating *right.*

What's that got to do with the size of oat bits?

All our bodies *process* everything we eat (except fats) into sugars before using
them.  We break down all the carbs and all the proteins into sugars, first thing.
The trick is, if my body breaks what I eat down into sugars TOO FAST, my body falls
into the old reactive hypoglycemia routine and tries to police out the excess sugar
by over-producing insulin (which of itself has all kinds of bad, nasty effects) and
then causes a blood sugar *crash.*

The *simpler* a food is to break down into sugar, the quicker my body does, and the
more likely I am to have a crash.  *Refined* or *simple* carbs are the easiest.
(Well, no - alcohol is the easiest - it doesn't have to be converted at all but
goes straight into the bloodstream.)  As long as I eat foods that take longer to
break down, I am okay.  They are still broken down into sugars, but at a slower
rate.  It's like time release and my body doesn't over-react.

Of course this is a simplified explanation, but you get the drift.  I can handle,
for example, the rough yellow whole corn *grits* that I buy in the whole foods
store.  But good white (refined) grits are like candy to my system.  I can do pasta
made from brown rice but not *normal* pasta.  (Try finding that in your average
grocery or restaurant.)  Also, white bread throws me.  The reason I avoid wheat is
because I am sensitive (or allergic) to it, the reason I avoid *refined* wheat is
because it crashes my blood sugar.  This is the same reason I said: peeled potatoes
are a simple carb while skin-on potatoes are a complex carb.  Fiber makes a big
difference.  Complex = a carb is *complex* enough to break down, in  that it takes
a while to get it to a simple sugar.

Some people with this kind of metabolism can eat any oatmeal (because they aren't
*as* sensitive) while some, like me, need the more coarse ground oatmeal, and
others - who have a gluten problem in addition to the blood sugar problem, can't
handle oats at all.

And this - btw, anklebear, is why some of us can't kick back and eat little
debbies.  If I did that, on about the third day, you'd find somebody looking for
enough people to carry me out.  'Cause I get real weak and start passing out if I
have too many blood sugar crashes.  And I look bad!

All this also makes eating in restaurants a challenge, because most cater to the
*refined* carbs and most are very wheat dependent.  Many places don't have *any*
meals that are wheat free!  It's just another thing that makes hiking the trail,
especially a thru hike, a challenge.

I have to keep my blood sugar stable - in spite of the exercise - and with foods
that aren't the *usual* fare, either for hikers or even in restaurants.  Grocery
stores can also be a problem, unless they carry what is now *trendy* whole grains -
which, btw, weigh more and take longer to cook.  It's a challenge all around.

But IF I'm keeping my blood sugar stable and well-supported (it gets real flaky if
not kept stable), I can sometimes eat a little of the *bad* for me foods.  (There's
always a cost.)  It can look confusing.  Usually, I pass on all wheat, but
occasionally I have some.  I might one day have an ice cream, but the next 3 days,
turn down a single M&M.  I can pretty much *feel* what I can handle now, but pay
dearly if I get sloppy.

What it boils down to is I finally have enough food knowledge that I can *operate*
out there - if I pay attention and take precautions, which involves a good bit of
vigilance and a lot of planning and also a good bit of extra expense.  Like I said,
another challenge.  And, in the last few years, I've gone from needing a snack
every 15 minutes while hiking, to one every hour or so.  That's getting better!
And I'm 51.  I was supposed to die from this in my 40ies.

Weary, didn't mean to give you too much detail... but thought your query on the
oatmeal sizes sounded genuine.

Delita


--
Delita Wright
Chapel Hill, NC

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