Website design By BotEap.comYoung ballet dancers often throw in casual comments, referring to their self-esteem issues. Whether it’s a body image issue, a perfection issue, a weight management issue, or a slightly depressed low energy issue, they either don’t come out and say it, or they can’t really articulate what the issue is. Recently, when I started reading about hypoglycemia and blood sugar balance, I began to connect its symptoms to many of the statements I had heard.
Website design By BotEap.comI became more interested in hypoglycemia and its sometimes subtle symptoms because of a conversation I had with a non-dancer, a talented artist, in another field. This person has performed in many countries, all of her teachers push her forward, and yet he can’t accept the praise from teachers or peers, or the enthusiasm from fans, because he just can’t.
Website design By BotEap.comThe lack of self-esteem in this person confuses me. A person who won the number one state award for acting while still in high school? That’s like winning the ballet competition performing the Blue Bird or the Swan Lake pas de deux.
Website design By BotEap.comAn eating disorder is more broadly defined as behavior that results in an emotional outcome from controlling what you eat. This doesn’t necessarily mean anorexia or bulimia, but it can refer to a practice of self-control or self-approval in terms of the food you eat, the caloric content, and this doesn’t just apply to dancers.
Website design By BotEap.comIt could be a borderline situation like a teenager who insists on being vegan, where I have personally witnessed the result causing stress fractures in this dancer who still thought she was going to be able to get stronger on her points and have a professional career. in ballet, while she was looking at her X-rays.
Website design By BotEap.comI recently took a look at hypoglycemia and its symptoms. Now this is complicated. The symptoms are almost unique to the individual. But the dominant symptoms, as I have read, are:
- sadness
- self-criticism
- despair
- feelings of absolutely no self worth
- periodic complete lack of energy, dizziness, mental confusion
- suicidal thoughts, although there is not enough energy to think beyond that
Website design By BotEap.comHypoglycemia is…drum roll…blood sugar too low!
Website design By BotEap.comIt is caused by a nutritional protein deficiency, or simply a lack of food.
Website design By BotEap.comHypoglycemia does not mean you are diabetic or near-diabetic. More concisely called reactive hypoglycemia, this is a condition that results from poor diet or not eating often enough for whatever reason. Or eating too many carbs without enough protein.
Website design By BotEap.comThe most common recommendation for hypoglycemics is to eat some protein every two hours.
Website design By BotEap.comAlso, I would like to mention the rule of nutritionists, that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Because? Proteins set up your brain chemicals for the day. Skip them and your brain chemicals won’t work properly until the next day IF you eat protein for breakfast.
Website design By BotEap.comDancing parents reading this – how often does your dancing daughter or dancing son run out of the house and skip breakfast because they stayed up late?
Website design By BotEap.comAnd what will they eat when they get to the food dispensers at school? Or will they go hungry until they get to the school cafeteria for lunch? This is a miserable situation for a non-athlete student, not to mention a ballet dancer or any other athlete.
Website design By BotEap.comAnd later, when they escape to their ballet academy? Are you one of those ballet parents who has to suffer hearing “I’m not that good”…”I’m not good enough”…and worse? While the ballet teacher tells her that her son should aim higher: audition for professional summer intensives?
Website design By BotEap.comConfused yet? Let me give you some relief. Hypoglycemia Without Diabetes at http://benjimester.hubpages.com is an eye-opening discussion. The whole thread is worth reading.
Website design By BotEap.comI personally believe that hypoglycemia is caused by:
- lack of nutrition education
- processed, fast food, frozen food products
- there is not enough time to serve fresh food indicating which foods are nutritious
- sugar addiction (nutritional ignorance)
- ignorance about cereals, transgenic cereals, glutin and transgenic sugars
Website design By BotEap.comAnd unfortunately I can’t cover much more here. BUT please, if your dancer child or any member of your family has energy issues or depression, but not severe enough to see your doctor (who probably won’t have nutrition education) or therapist, investigate hypoglycemia. It’s an insidious condition, but it can be reversed with a good diet!
Website design By BotEap.comIt is not so difficult. I would love to never hear from a ballet dancer or any other type of artist who feels grumpy, depressed, sad, or hopeless about their talent or potential, when they have no idea where all this negativity is coming from. And they skip meals, snack without nutrition, and have low blood sugar…
Website design By BotEap.comI would love to never hear from a sad and depressed ballet parent again, whose amazingly talented child is failing, sinking, not even treading water, suffering from body image issues or self-esteem issues, and contemplating quitting ballet, or even committing suicide. . Due to lack of nutritional balance.
Website design By BotEap.comThis may require a lot of extra food prep for ballet parents! If you’re still reading this post, I bet you’re okay with that.
