Should i increase sugar intake?

[AnonyMousee]

hi all! 18 weeks today :) Had my 16 week midwife appointment last week (a tad late) who told me my blood pressure is low. I've also had 2 pretty bad dizzy spells in the past week. I usually have diet drinks and use sweeteners instead of real sugar. I'm also very diet aware and try to keep a low cal/sugar diet (as evening meals are out of my control due to living in OH parents home)
Should i start having real sugar instead until my blood pressure stabilizes a bit more? I've never had a blood pressure issue before so not sure how to resolve it.

Thanks :)

Artificial sweeteners aren't good for you. They are currently linked to research where they make you eat more though some people think they cause cancer and other health problems.

Personally I would avoid diet fizzy drinks as much as possible, and on the rare occasion you do have a fizzy drink that is sweetened just have one with sugar in it.

Also there is no evidence that having more sugar will help your blood pressure but there is evidence that smaller more frequent meals will help. I would suggest you show who ever cooks the meals in your household the NHS advice - www.nhs.uk/conditions/low-blood-pressure-hypotension/ - so they give you access to food during the day if you aren't at work.

I am not sure that having sugar will help with low blood pressure, did the midwife suggest it would??

@bluebirdsky she didnt suggest anything, my guess is she wasnt too concerned as it cant have been THAT worrying, its just when i feel dizzy and lightheaded people have been telling me to have a sugary snack to make me feel better so im assuming that it helps?

If low blood pressure is making you feel dizzy then having something sugary won't help this, if not eating is making you feel dizzy then sugar will act as a temporary fix to make you feel better but eating more regularly is a better solution to using sugar.

Protein is better long term for slow release energy... Eg nuts, cheese, meet, fish... Stops the highs and lows much better (saying that as someone who has been hospitalised with severe hypoglycemia!!).

If your blood pressure is low it usually means you are dehydrated so you need to up your water I take rather than drinking sugary drinks. Caffeinated drinks like coke are also diuretics and make you per more which can make you even more dehydrated. You have about 50% more blood circulating in your system when you are pregnant so you need to drink more than you normally would. Hope this helps 😊

I have low blood pressure too - always have. Sugar is not the answer! Small frequent meals are helpful though, and yes stay hydrated.