Reactive hypoglycemia: What causes it?

       Causes             Symptoms             Treatment

Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) usually occurs while fasting. But reactive hypoglycemia is low blood sugar that occurs after a meal — usually one to three hours after eating. Often, the cause of reactive hypoglycemia isn't clear.

So how does the sugar in the blood drop?  

The most common causeof this is when a person goes hungry for a long period of time or is in a state of fasting. Basically the body needs food to keep all its functions going correctly, so if a person is fasting the body does not have the necessary fuel and so the sugar levels drop.

Though there are some people who experience this state even if they are not fasting, and the blood sugar drops irrespective of there food intake--this condition is referred to as reactive hypoglycemia.

There has been quite a bit of research done on this subject and many researchers and experts have come to believe that this condition is mainly caused by the lack of a hormone called Glucagon. This hormone is the one that is mainly responsible for keeping the balance levels of sugar in the blood. There are others who have a different opinion though. Some believe this is caused by too much insulin production , tumors in the body or being too sensitive to epinephrine . The debate is still on!