Hypoglycemia: A Better Approach

By Dr. Paavo Airola (1977)

I know you might be thinking “Why not choose something more up to date?” Dr. Paavo Airola was addressing a conditions that most other Doctors were ignoring or attacking, at that time. I found this book a very interesting read with that perspective in mind. It is a good place to start if you are interested in hypoglycemia. Over the last 30 years or so, hypoglycemia has become a household word and much of what he says is now common knowledge.

It is also interesting because the AMA etc are still doing the same thing they were doing then-insisting that certain conditions are non-existent and later doing a complete 180 degree turn-around. We all know today that hypoglycemia is not an imaginary state of being. It is rampant in our societies today, often a pre-cursor to diabetes.

If you have a condition that the medical establishment won’t acknowledge, don’t feel like you are the crazy one. This is a well established pattern. In fact the establishment is proving itself insane under this definition of insanity: repeating the same mistakes over and over again, expecting to get a different result.

Dr. Paavo Airola recommends a diet for hypoglycemia which is included in this book. He also recommends avoiding high protein diets, because of the strain they put on your calcium resources and your adrenal glands. He highly recommends brewer’s yeast for hypoglycemics.

Brewer’s yeast might not be a good dietary addition for someone who has candida problems which often come with hypoglycemia, so it is best to check with your nutritional therapist if you have that condition or, if you eat brewer’s yeast be aware of the reaction your body has to it.

Brewer’s yeast, like meat has a high amount of phosphorus which can imbalance your calcium-magnesium-phosphorus ratios, resulting in calcium deficiencies.

Therefore, I don’t necessarily recommend following his diet to a “t” but I like the way he writes, it is well worth reading.

A Few Favorite Passages From His Book

The medical establishment, AMA and the affiliated groups, clinics as well as official medical journals, insists that hypoglycemia is virtually a non-existent condition invented by self-diagnosing health faddists; a popular in disease among jet-set high-stress, heavy-drinking hypochondriacs; a new invention replacing ulcers as the status disorder. A famous Mayo Clinic doctor and syndicated medical columnist Walter Alvarez, M.D, summed up the official view saying, “I have never seen a case of functional hypoglycemia in thirty years of practice.” The American Dietetic Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the Endocrine Society joined the American Medical Association in publishing in their official journals strongly worded position statements indicating that hypoglycemia is an extremely rare condition. (Keep in mind this was written in 1977) p13

Because major hypoglycemic symptoms are mental confusion, emotional instability, low energy level, and neurotic, even psychotic behavior, the condition of hypoglycemia has a serious effect on a person’s whole life, including his marital and family relationships; it has, in other words, enormous personal as well as social implications. p15

Hypoglycemia was officially “discovered” by Dr. Seale Harris in 1924. He was the first to describe the presence of abnormally low blood sugar levels and the distinctly defined symptoms that accompany them. The condition was at first called hyperinsulinism, and it was considered to be caused by too much insulin in the blood. Excessive insulin burned more sugar than was necessary and caused an excessive drop in the blood sugar level. In diabetes, too little insulin is produced, which results in too much sugar staying in the bloodstream for to long. Thus, in simple terms, an over active pancreas is blamed for low blood sugar. But the real question is: why is the pancreas overactive? p21

When we eat food with refined, white, commercially produced sugar, the small-molecule carbohydrates of these foods are absorbed quickly sometimes almost instantaneously through the membranes of the mouth and stomach causing a sudden flood of glucose into the bloodstream. Such a flood of excess sugar into the bloodstream causes a tremendous strain on the pancreas and liver, as well as on the adrenals and other endocrine glands that are involved in regulating blood sugar levels. p23

If the pancreas is over-reactive and produces too much insulin, the sugar level in the blood drops abnormally low, depriving the brain and nervous system of much needed oxygen and causing an array of unpleasant hypoglycemic symptoms. Eating sugar in such a situation will not help. On the contrary, it will only trigger the over-responsive pancreas to produce more insulin and make the situation and symptoms worse. p24

Hypoglycemia is one of the classic examples of the degenerative processes caused by nutritional abuses, constant stresses, and a generally health destroying mode of living. p29

The primary dietary indiscretion that contributes to the development of hypoglycemia is a diet too high in refined starches. This incredible nutritional folly is nothing less than an act of unintentional national suicide. It is no wonder that white flour and white sugar are referred to by concerned scientists as the “white poisons” and the “white plague” of the civilized world. p56

Drs. Cherasking and Ringsdorf, of Alabama University, say: “The sugar-laden American diet has led to a national epidemic of hypoglycemia, an ailment characterized by irrational behavior, emotional instability, distorted judgment, and nasty personality defects.” p56

According to the old Pasteurian concept of medicine, disease is caused by bacteria or virus which attack the unfortunate and undeserving individual who has no choice or responsibility for the fact that he becomes ill. Orthodox medicine, which is still based on this outdated Pasteurian concept, believes that bacteria or germs are “going around”, striking every unsuspecting person in their way. The job of the doctor is to kill or drive out the evil intruders with magic medicine power from injection needles or from miracle pills which will save the innocent victim from the vicious attack. p158

Biological Medicine takes exception to such a Pasteurian concept of disease and the symptomatic drug-therapy approach to the treatment of disease. The biological concept of medicine is based on the irrefutable physiological fact that the primary cause of disease is not the bacteria or virus, but weakened resistance brought about by man’s own health destroying living habits and physical and mental stresses. Thus, man must accept full responsibility for his own health. Biological Medicine considers not the bacteria, but the weakened organism and the lowered resistance to be the primary causes of disease. Bacteria is more often than not the result of disease, not its cause. p159

Exercise is absolutely essential to tone up your muscles, to improve digestion and metabolism, to maintain efficient nerve, lymph, and blood circulation, to prevent constipation, to assure the normal function of all organs and glands, and to supply enough oxygen to facilitate efficient cell and brain function. Keep in mind that the ultimate cause of all disease and premature aging is hypoxia, or lack of oxygen in your cells. p164

Your body is equipped with the most powerful and the most effective healing system known to medical science. Your body is designed to be a self-cleansing, self-repairing, and self-healing mechanism. p167

The real reason for achieving good health and building a strong, healthy body, is to prepare a way for our spiritual growth and perfection. Freed from disease and pain, we can pursue our true purpose in life the perfection and refinement of our divine spirit. Only when our efforts to improve physical health are thus motivated will they fit into the framework of the purposeful, divinely-designed plan for our lives. p169