Impact Of A High-sucrose Diet Vs A High-starch And A High-fat Diet

[ecstatichamster]

Well, I have to make a special effort to keep it closed that keeps me awake and I can't stand to tape my mouth. I think I'm hyperventilating at night

of course you are. Tape during the day, so you get used to it. And then you can tape at night. It's the best thing by far to lower hyperventilation at night and resultant high CO2 loss during sleep.

 

[Peatit]

Tape during the day, so you get used to it

Working in an open space, I imagine the look of my coworkers (they already think I'm crazy though, so I might give it a try), thanks for the advice ecstatichamster

But back on the topic, I'm still wondering if sugar raises adrenaline, I read on Matt Stone blog something that seems to go in this direction (but can't retrieve it at the moment)

 

[tara]

Well, I have to make a special effort to keep it closed that keeps me awake and I can't stand to tape my mouth. I think I'm hyperventilating at night

Tape during the day, so you get used to it. And then you can tape at night. It's the best thing by far to lower hyperventilation at night and resultant high CO2 loss during sleep.

I agree.
This could well be the key reason you get the heart-pounding. Hyperventilation can cause increased adrenaline (and vice versa). Breathing with the mouth open at night means hyperventilation.
I have not had night-time heart-pounding on a night that the tape stayed on. I generally no longer need it unless I have a cold, but it took more than a year before I restored the natural habit.
I expected it to be really unpleasant/stressful to tape mouth, but after I tried it once I found it to be very relaxing.
I've had the odd funny look when I've been out camping. :)
You don't have to tape across the whole mouth, just a narrow strip down the middle, so you can still breath round the edges, and talk, but it makes the relaxed default position closed. I was even able to stick food in round the side if I woke up hungry. This should help avoid any panic about the mouth being held shut. Put a bit of butter or other grease round your lips first so it doesn't tear the skin off in the morning.
Or try a chin strap, if that would feel better. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_10?url=search-alias=hpc&field-keywords=chin+strap&tag=rapefo-20
You could try either for whatever time you have in the evening before bed, or some other time you are alone.

I don't know if excess blood sugar can cause increassed adrenaline. I just know it can sometimes make me feel and function badly. (Insufficient sugar sure feels like adrenaline to me.)

 

[Lightbringer]

you don't GET hypoglycemic, it is cut off with cortisol before it can happen.

 

[tara]

you don't GET hypoglycemic, it is cut off with cortisol before it can happen.

I think that's probably right for most people, but not everyone.

 

[Peatit]

tara I'll try what you're suggesting. Thank you

 

[Emstar1892]

tara I'll try what you're suggesting. Thank you

Hey peat it, any luck? :) your reactions sound like mine!

 

[Peatit]

Emstar1892 I have lowered a bit sugar before bed and my heart isn't pounding anymore but I can't still fall asleep easily and feel very warm.
I tape my mouth every night now and often I have to remove it in the middle of the night for some reason.
I still believe that Tara is on something about hyperventilation because even through my nose I have to make a conscious effort to regulate my breathing at night.

 

[Emstar1892]

Lowering the sugar sounds like a good shout, for the first time in aaaages yesterday I realized I hadn't eaten nearly enough (got stuck in a bunch of meetings). When I got home (10:30pm) I ate a box of mango and then squeezed pure honey into my mouth I was so hungry. For about 15 minutes I thought I was slipping into the deepest, groggiest, loveliest sleep ever, then suddenly my heart rate sped up and then pounded for another hour!!! Kept me awake until midnight so annoying!

 

[Peatit]

A huge insulin secretion may trigger adrenaline secretion in response to the insulin induced hypoglycemia, so I guess my pounding heart is to blame on a poor choice of food with too high insulin index (often a whole can of sweetened concentrated skimmed milk) if it has been full fat, it would have slowed down the absorption and thus maybe the rise in insulin.Emstar1892, you might well had the same reaction.

 

[Emstar1892]

Hypoglycemia definitely triggers adrenaline otherwise your body couldn't keep you alive! But it's a tricky one - adding fat only adds to the insulin required, as it makes it harder for the glucose to get to the cell. In a healthy body, the release of insulin after a high carbohydrate meal without fat won't result in hypoglycemia in the first place.

What I'm trying to work on is therefore the cause of my hypoglycemia - could be low thyroid function, could be poor cortisol levels, could be insulin resistance from my low carb days, could be all three! One day I'll find the answer :)

What I do know is that when I was living in central America, the entire diet of everyone in the community was pure starch with a little sugar, and nobody got hypoglycemic after eating. I'm not saying one particular way of eating is the right approach, and you will no doubt feel better after eating your bedtime meal with fat, I just don't think carbs alone cause the problem. Good luck and I hope you get to sleep well soon :)

 

[Hgreen56]

Ray emphasizes sugar WITH protein. Otherwise, only protein will cause a surge in insulin followed by hypoglycemia that is stemmed by cortisol. But the converse is, just sugar WITHOUT protein could cause an insulin surge also, and without the protein or starch even to follow it and maintain insulin for awhile, the insulin falls and cortisol/adrenalin kicks in. Are you eating the sugar WITH protein before bed? Maybe that would solve this problem.

Do you know Ray talk about some protein/sugar ratio's to avoid hypo's?