Postprandial glucose dip tied to appetite, energy intake

Individuals who had a big drop in blood glucose two to three hours after eating a meal also reported feeling hungry at that time, having a shorter time before eating again and greater energy intake throughout the day. The findings in Nature Metabolism were based on data from 1,070 people who consumed standardized breakfasts, as well as two meals a day of their choice, for two weeks This is called reactive hypoglycemia

Reactive Hypoglycemia – Hypos After Eating

Reactive hypoglycemia is the general term for having a hypo after eating, which is when blood glucose levels may come low and rarely become dangerously low following a meal. This is usually caused by a high carbohydrate meal with high glycemic index ( sugar and sugary products)

Also known as postprandial hypoglycemia, drops in blood sugar are usually recurrent and occur within four hours after eating. 

Reactive hypoglycemia can occur is often seen in people with obesity, prediabetes, and diabetes and those who have had gastric bypass surgery

What are the causes of reactive hypoglycemia? 

Scientists believe reactive hypoglycemia to be the result of too much insulin being produced and released by the pancreas following a large carbohydrate-based meal.  This is often related to obesity, prediabetes which is associated with insulin resistance causing high insulin levels

This excess insulin production and secretion continues after the glucose derived from the meal has been digested, causing the amount of glucose in the bloodstream to fall to a lower-than-normal level. 

What causes this increase in pancreatic activity is unclear. 

One possible explanation is that in rare cases, a tumour in the pancreas may cause an overproduction of insulin, or too much glucose may be used up by the tumour itself. 

Signs and symptoms of reactive hypoglycemia 

Symptoms of reactive hypoglycemia can include: 

• Anxiety 
• Blurred vision
• Confusion 
• Dizzy spells
• Fatigue
• Headaches 
• Heart palpitations 
• Increased hunger 
• Irritability 
• Light-headedness 
• Sleeping problems 
• Sweating 
• Weakness 

When talking about the signs of reactive hypoglycemia, it’s important to note that many of these symptoms can be experienced without actually having low blood sugar

In addition to these symptoms to be caused by falling blood sugar levels after eating, with the actual cause some people often relating to what food was eaten or variations in the timing of the food moving through the stomach and intestinal tract. 

The only way to diagnose the condition is to measure the blood sugar at the time of symptoms

Treatment 

No medical treatment is usually required for cases of reactive hypoglycemia. Instead, patients are generally advised to: 

• Reduce carbohydrate intake and/or eat frequent small meals – the first step of treatment is to split your daily diet into several small meals and snacks, no more than 3 hours apart., which are less carb-heavy. 
• Eat a well-balanced diet, including meat, poultry, fish, nonmeat sources of protein, dairy products and fibre-rich foods such as whole grains, fruit and vegetables. 
• Avoid or limit sugary foods and drinks, especially soft drinks rich in glucose or sucrose. 
• Exercise regularly – physical activity increases sugar uptake which, in turn, decreases excessive insulin release. 
• Eat food when drinking alcohol and avoid using sugary soft drinks as mixers. 

Some people have reduced hypo awareness which can potentially be dangerous. This is mostly seen in persons with diabetes. If you suffer hypoglycemia you should be careful to test before putting either yourself or others in any potential danger. 

Examples when hypoglycemia and unawareness of it could be particularly dangerous include driving, operating dangerous machinery at work and even day to day tasks such as cooking or even crossing the road. 

partly from

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/high-low-blood-sugar-symptoms.html