I am the type of person who gets hangry. I long thought this was simply a character trait and I would always walk around with a snack in my bag in case “hunger happened to me.” Little did I know that this was a sign of a blood sugar imbalance!
Like many persons in the Caribbean, I have a family history of Diabetes. As a result, I’ve had my blood sugar tested almost every year since I was a child.
In my early twenties my A1C blood sugar scores teetered into the pre-diabetic range but quickly returned to “normal” levels in subsequent years when I introduced exercise as a staple in my routine. I ate relatively clean and thought that my blood sugar was completely under control.
Fast forward to April 2022, I randomly decided to listen to a podcast on metabolic health by Lewis Howes. I was utterly fascinated as I listened to Dr. Casey Means explain what metabolic health is and how much blood sugar affects multiple facets of our daily lives.
Metabolic health is often viewed as a binary: healthy or unhealthy, when in reality, it is a spectrum. There are many warning signs along the way from ideal health and developing type 2 diabetes. Symptoms of metabolic dysfunction tend only to manifest themselves when it becomes a severe issue. A continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) allows you to see in real time how food, stress, exercise and sleep affect your blood sugar levels in a way that is personalized and actionable.
My Blood Sugar Journey
Having ‘discovered’ metabolic health, I quickly went down a blood sugar rabbit hole which led me to read Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspé .
She offered many hacks for balancing her blood sugar which she corroborated with her own blood sugar readings.
The more I read, I soon learned that my “hanger” was a sign of a blood sugar imbalance. For a long time, I struggled with fasting and snacking and admittedly I thought that perhaps it was a lack of self-discipline. However, the more I learned about blood sugar, the more I came to understand the linkages between blood sugar spikes and cravings. I started implementing hacks from Glucose Revolution right away but was curious to see my own personal blood sugar readings.
There are quite a few companies out there that market CGMs to persons without diabetes. I was a bit overwhelmed but I ended up choosing Veri as I found it to be the most affordable option for me. This article was particularly helpful in assisting me with my choice.
Veri offers a month’s supply of Abbott Freestyle Libre 2 sensors for US $199.00. Their software interprets the data from the CGM and provides a score that easily helps you to understand how a particular meal or activity affected your blood sugar. I initially ordered one month’s supply. However, I’ve ordered another month’s supply as I believe there is so much that I still have to learn. If you’d like to try it out yourself, they’ve offered me a discount link for a fixed $30 discount for new Veri users on their first purchase.
Applying the monitor is quite straight forward and virtually painless. The monitor is applied to the back of the arm. There is a protective patch that keeps the monitor in place. The monitor is valid for fourteen (14 ) days, and you can shower, play sports and live your life as normal. After calibrating for one hour, you can then get glucose readings on your phone. There is no finger pricking and you get the data in real time.
What I learned from wearing a CGM
My approach was quite unscientific, as I was simply curious. I am certain I’d discover much more if I followed some sort of methodology, nonetheless here is what I have learned so far from monitoring my blood sugar:
- A savoury breakfast works best for me
I adopted this “hack’ after reading Glucose Revolution and felt the difference immediately. However, it was still exciting to see the actual numbers.
I would usually start my day with a vegan protein smoothie that would include seasonal fruit, maca and sea moss (Irish Moss) or fresh fruit. I would usually have it within a hour of waking and it would keep me sated for about 2 hours after which I would have some sort of snack to tide me over until lunch.
While my vegan protein powder was sugar free, it was sweetened with sucralose. By wearing my CGM I learned that despite the protein content, the smoothie caused a spike of at least 30(mg/dL) (the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) guidelines state that your glucose values are “normal” if they stay below 140mg/dL after meals and return to pre-meal levels within two to three hours.)
I also learned that eating fruit in a fasted state was even worse particularly as I loved to start my day with sugary fruits like mangoes, pineapples and bananas.
I have since switched to a low carb, high protein savoury breakfast. This type of breakfast can keep me sated for several hours.
2. Food ordering does matter
I first encountered this concept via the Glucose Goddess, however it is not novel and has long been scientifically backed. The premise is that by eating your proteins, then fats and carbs last you can achieve a more stable glucose response.
I’ve tried this out and found that desserts and fruits scored better when I ate them after a meal rather than on their own. I also found that eating sweet and starchy food before or after exercise resulted in a better score.
3. I seem to process carbs better later on in the day
My carb-heavy meals score better at night!
Wearing a CGM caused me to question what is considered “healthy.” On the one hand oats and fruit are considered to be very nutritious, however when I ate them in the morning they spiked my blood sugar. Conversely, conventional pizza, which has minimal nutritional value has gotten me a perfect blood sugar score depending on when I ate it! It can be easy to get bogged down with the numbers, however I believe that it is essential to keep sight of what your overall health goals are and to eat in a way that optimizes both nutrition and blood sugar.
4. There are factors other than food that affect blood sugar
I noticed blood sugar increases during and after exercise. Not all spikes are bad, as the glucose is being released for immediate use by one’s muscles. We all have unique responses to food and sometimes the same food can score differently based on how much we slept or stress levels. However, I have not yet truly monitored the effect that stress and sleep have affected my blood sugar.
Wearing a CGM with an interpretive app like Veri has been extremely insightful and I encourage you to do your own independent research on them.
You can read more on how wearing a CGM is beneficial here.