What You Should Know ABout Hypoglycemia

What it is: Abnormally low blood sugar (glucose), which is your body's main energy source.

Wht it's not necessarily serious: While the symptoms can be frightening-shakiness, nervousness, lightheadedness, and confusion-hypoglycemia is simple to treat. In non-diabetics, hypoglycemia isn't really a disease, and some experts don't even think of it as a condition at all. If you're diagnosed with hypoglycemia, your doctor will help you modify your eating habits, so that your glucose levels remain stable. For instance, having small meals and snacks throughout the day and choosing foods high in fiber and low in sugar can help.

When to worry: If you have diabetes, hypoglycemia can be a serious condition so you'll want to seek a doctor's advice on preventing it. Also, in rare cases, hypoglycemia can be caused by insulin-producing tumors, hormone deficiences, illnesses or certain medications, so you should always get symptoms checked out.