For people who are hypoglycemic it is essential to combine protein rich foods with slow release carbohydrates and high fibre foods. This helps to control blood sugar levels, but for those who have digestive difficulties it may cause problems. It is also essential to eat every three hours to prevent a sudden drop in the blood sugar.

Low blood sugar is associated with tiredness, irritability, hot flushes, excess weight and cravings for sweet foods or stimulants such as alcohol, coffee or tea. Eating slowly metabolised carbohydrates improves health and lowers both excess weight and unwanted blood fats by controlling insulin release. The more insulin the body produces, the more sugar is converted into fat. Over time the pancreas produces less and less insulin in response to continuous high blood sugar. This ultimately leads to diabetes. High blood sugar also damages the arteries, leading to cardiovascular disease, it can also affect the eyes, kidneys and nerves.

Research has found that oestrogen disturbs thyroid activity, which tends to slow metabolism, it is involved in the deposition of fat in humans and it also disturbs blood sugar balance causing hypoglycemia. Progesterone can redress this imbalance. Hypoglycemia is particularly noticeable in women just before menstruation when the progesterone level drops in relation to the oestrogen level, causing many of them to experience a sudden increase in appetite.

Unfortunately there is not a corresponding drop in appetite after the period has started. What this means is that there will be a slow increase of weight over the following months and years. It is interesting to note that women, who have far higher levels of oestrogen than men, have an 80% chance of being hypoglycemic.

This is one of the reasons why women have such difficulty in losing weight. It also explains 'puppy fat' at puberty and 'middle aged spread' at menopause, both times in a woman's life when she experiences oestrogen dominance.

It can take two years after her first menstruation before a child ovulates and starts making quantities of progesterone to counteract the oestrogen and during the 5 to 10 years prior to menopause a womans' progesterone levels are declining but she is still making her normal amount of oestrogen. It is therefore essential during these two periods in a womans' life that she helps herself by taking all the nutrients listed above and by following the Glycaemic Diet to control blood sugar and by balancing her progesterone and oestrogen levels.

Do not over eat; recent research has found that by limiting calories and protein, life expectancy increases, energy levels go up, health increases, tiredness becomes a thing of the past, weight is reduced and then maintained at the optimum level for the body.

Drink filtered water only; to calculate your approx. requirements, multiply your weight in kilos by 30 to obtain your daily water needs in millilitres. Exercise is vital for health, with a minimum of 20 mins. per day. The programme should include stretching, aerobic and resistance work. The last is especially important for osteoporosis.