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Conditions and Diseases > Hypoglycemia Forum > Can't Handle Berries
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Q: Can't Handle Berries
asked by: mendigoodwin on June 13th, 2006
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I'm at about week 2.5 on diet version 6.
I've dropped 9 pounds and feel good the majority of the time.
Berries have consistently caused me headaches and decreased energy. The only days I have with no headache are the days I do not eat berries. I have tried strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and my favorite blackberries. Even one berry after each of my first 5 meals of the day causes me to have a headache.
I respect the improtance of fruit and love eating it.
Is there any reason to not eat the fruit after my last meal so I can hopefully sleep through the headache?
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Stan
replied on June 13th, 2006
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You shouldn't have any fruit for your last meal. Don't I say that in there? I hope I do. That much trouble with berries eh? Your system must be as sensitive as mine was. Try this perhaps. Try to eat only a few berries the entire day. Perhaps try to eat one berry every other meal. If that is two much perhaps try that approach every other day. It is strange you are having the same reaction I used to. I notice that only in the morning I seem sensitive to sugar and usually after breakfast i'll get a bit odd for a few minutes or so. I can actually feel the sugar doing something when it goes into my stomach, it's weird. I hope this isn't a problem with the diet, I need to research this, you're the only other person I know that's had this problem too. It could be that you just haven't adjusted yet though. 2.5 weeks is a decent amount of time, but I wouldn't worry about the berry thing unless it was for like two months. Then it's time to figure it out.
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Didier
replied on June 13th, 2006
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Hello
this is in reponse to mendigoodwins headaches. Stan, I understand that this forum is dedicated to helping those with hypoglycemia but it seems to me that we have to be careful to not attribute every symptom to hypoglycemia and we have to be careful to not jump to conclusions about the diet. When I read that email it seemed obvious that you were suffering a simple food allergy that has nothing to do with hypoglycemia. It seems highly improbable to me that eating one berry would cause a hypoglycemic reaction. Allergic reaction yes. Hypoglycemic reaction, no. I can understand if you were eating a whole bowl of them at a time and eating just that with no fats or proteins to slow down the absorption.

But then again...I am not a doctor so I decided to do a quick search and here is what I came up with

http://www.Foodallergy.Org/ http://allergies.About.Com/cs/headaches/a/ aa100900a.Htm

sounds to me that all you need to do is cut out the offending food. My ex sister-in-law was allergic to strawberries

hope this helps
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Stan
replied on June 13th, 2006
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True, but all four types of berries? The chances would be pretty remote. Still, it is best to try all options to make sure. But here's the thing i've found with my experience. You mentioned food allergies. Look at it that way. If you notice on some packages of foods, it will say something like "this product manufactured in a facility that uses peanuts" or whatever. Why does that matter? Because with someone who has an allergy to peanuts, even the most minor, miniscule little particle of that peanut will set off a chain reaction. I myself believe the same thing exists in the hypoglycemic in response to sugar from fruits and such. I've had it happen myself with only an extra berry or so earlier in treatment, and I tested it several times to check.
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mendigoodwin
replied on June 14th, 2006
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Hi all,
thanks for all of the feedback. I actually had started to wonder about a food allergy because on the day I finally decided for sure it was the berries (after several test days) I ended up having to take a claritin to get rid of the headache (after ibuprofen did not help). I've been considering the 1/2 slice of orange option. I have eatens berries - all kinds- most of my life and never ever noticed a reaction before.
Thanks again for being here!

Any one growing their own veggies? Any good websites for ordering organic seeds?
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Stan
replied on June 14th, 2006
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Yeah, try a bit of orange, maybe even 1/3 a slice. You could try 1/3 a slice of an apple too.
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mendigoodwin
replied on June 14th, 2006
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Hey stan,
you definitely make it clear not to have berries with the final meal. I have only been having them with the other meals.
I was just thinking that since berries were causing me problems I could have the berries before bed and not the rest of the day and sleep through the symptoms.
I'm definitely going to try the 1/3-1/2 slice of orange.
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Stan
replied on June 14th, 2006
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Ahhh, I see what you mean. Yes, it could be the case that if you were to eat the berries later you might not have a problem with them. Why not try that first and see what happens. I suggest trying the second to the last meal to see what happens. That way you won't follow it with fruit and will be going to bed soon after the final meal. You may just still be overly sensitive.
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LanTurner
replied on June 23rd, 2006
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Allergies
I have some issues with berries, too. Do you also have any pepper allegies? I find that often peppers and vine fruits are related that way so if you have a reaction to one, you can have it to another too.

I found out how bad my allergy was the hard way:

a had an extremely close call last year with an undiagnosed capsicum allergy.
I was at a diner with some friends after a night of drinking. My girlfriend and some other people we knew had vanished without a trace a few hours prior. We had been fighting and I was feeling bad, wondering if I should continue to search for her or just phone her later. Confused and angry, I just kept drinking.


Some people we were with suggested we all go out for midnight breakfast. I was glad they decided to include me. To make matters worse, I had the ringer was broken on my cell phone so even if my girlfriend wanted to call my number, she couldn’t phone me.


So half drunk and all the way upset, I ordered a big breakfast that turned out to be really bland. Without thinking I doused my eggs and potatoes with tabasco sauce (something I never do). I was halfway through the meal when my friends all lookup and say the wish I could reverse that course of action, aware that I can’t really handle contact with hot sauce.

About a minute later as I try to click the number to my girlfriend’s cell phone into my phone, the voice in my head calling me an fool suddenly became clear. Eating that sauce was not a good call. I tried to get the waitress’s attention to bring me some water, but she was busy loudly searching for the address and phone number of the corporate office.

Things started get blurry and I was breathing heavy and sweating. People around you need to have information on your situation—those around me did not. After the incident I decided to lookup information on my condition and print some pages of info out and keep them in my car.


I started feeling worse and worse and began to feel concerned about my labored breathing. When I put the car in reverse and lookup at the mirror, everything was pretty fuzzy. I search for a place to focus on and eventually find one. My friends convince me that I shouldn’t drive and they take me to the pharmacy. As we enter the business, I start to feel like i’m caught in a web. The pharmacist explained that there was nothing they could give me without a prescription. I knew I had to have some medication fast and I didn’t want to give my information at the emergency room and wait there for three hours, gasping for breath.


My doctor had written his cell phone number on one of his cards, but he didn’t answer the phone. We searched for a business phone number that might forward to him, or an address, but could find nothing. People were starting to enter the store and lookup at my breathing. They were frightened at the site of me. Things were getting worse.


Finally I called my sister, a researcher who can search business phone information. She ordered a reverse lookup on the doctor’s cell phone number. The lookup search obtained his address. My friend helped me enter the car and we drove to the address the search provided. My doctor called the business phone of the pharmacy and gave them my prescription information. He even escorted us back to the drug store to make sure they were able to lookup the right medicine.


I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t been able to reach my doctor, but it wouldn’t have been good. Knowing about your allergies ahead of time can save your life. Apparently so can a
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Stan
replied on June 24th, 2006
Moderator
Pretty rough right there. That's interesting, so you're saying there may be a connection between vine-grown vegetables and fruits? Do you have any idea why? I could see this, so I am curious.
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mendigoodwin
replied on June 25th, 2006
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Hello everyone and thanks for all of the comments!
I've been thinking of the stuff growing on a vine - i'm not so sure it pertains to me. Squash and zucchini grow on vines and they don't bother me at all. Maybe it is just the fruits that grow on vines, but oranges grow on trees. Vine and tree fruits are the problem.
Well I decided to try the 1/3 of an orange segment and found the same headache on the second day. I am now going to go for a small bit of orange with my next to the last meal as stan previously suggested.
My blood sugar is staying between 60 and 81. Nothing in the diet is bringing my blood sugar up to even 90, so I can't possibly keep it there. Following the diet w/o the fruit is keeping me from dropping into the low 50's though and I generally feel better and have less of a problem with mood swings.
What else could I try other than fruit to bring my blood sugar up so that I can try to maintain it there with frequent small meals? I feel pretty good with it in the upper 70's, but I think I would feel better if I could get it in the 80's and keep it there. I have the olive oil, nut, protein, veg, lettuce sequence down pat. The brewer's yeast, fish oil, calcium, and occasional iron are a regular part of the routine as well.
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Stan
replied on June 25th, 2006
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Man, you must be uber sensitive to fruit. Well, this happens sometimes i've heard. It may be that you just need to adjust to it. I forget, but what's the longest you've tried staying with the fruit regardless of how you feel? Have you given it at least two weeks? Maybe you should start with a bit of avocado then, it suppresses insulin production so you'll get the sugar out of it but not the drop.
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mendigoodwin
replied on June 30th, 2006
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Thanks for the tip about the extra avocado. I will certainly add a bite of avocado to the end of the meal.
I have not tried sticking with the fruit despite the headache. I may give that a try, or I may just go for the avocado.
Avocado's here generally run $1.99 a piece! I was in atlanta, ga a couple of weeks ago and they were only $0.79 a piece. It is hard to find organic avocado's so they are huge. I only eat a 1/4 of one with breakfast.
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Stan
replied on June 30th, 2006
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Yeah, they are expensive. But they're sooooo good for hypoglycemics, so I suggest them. Organic is not necessary since you're not eating the outer skin.
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