Ask Marilyn: Nausea in the mornings?
Q: I eat a healthy diet but often feel slightly nauseous on waking in the morning. I’m fine once I’ve had breakfast. Do you know why this could be?
A: As you feel fine after you’ve had breakfast, it is likely that you are experiencing symptoms of low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia).
You have effectively gone through a fast from dinner the night before until you have breakfast in the morning which can be as long as 12 hours. If you are sensitive to blood sugar swings then you can experience feelings of nausea until the low blood sugar has been corrected by having breakfast.
You can test if this is the problem by having an oatcake or rye cracker within an hour of going to bed. If low blood sugar is the problem then you will not experience the nausea when you wake. Then you have to address the cause of the problem by eating little and often (every three hours) during the day and eliminating caffeine and sugar as this stops the blood sugar roller coaster effect.