So, I’ve been using a CGM (Continuous glucose monitor) for the last couple of weeks.
Whilst it’s mostly been a revelation, I am glad that it’s gone now. I was starting to find constantly monitoring how my blood sugar levels were being affected by what I was eating, tiring and stressful. Being a diabetic must be incredibly difficult as this is part of their normal daily life.
After studying Nutrition for 3 years, I had a fairly good idea of what might happen and what actions to take to neutralise any potential blood sugar spikes but seeing them in real time was fascinating and to be honest I became a bit obsessive, which is never a good thing.
So what did I learn. Well overall my blood sugar is in a generally good place, I was within the NHS guidelines of between 4.0 and 5.4 mmol/L for my fasting level, first thing in the morning before you eat. However, your fasting level isn’t necessarily the only measure you need to be aware of, especially if you are experiencing several spikes throughout the day as these are the things that cause your blood sugar levels to increase slowly over time and cause other issues within the body. The size of the spike is also important as NHS guidelines indicate that a spike should not be more than 7.9 mmol/L after eating.
Most of my spikes where within that level but then came the pizza for dinner and the afternoon biscuit with a cup of tea which took me well over that limit. I was expecting to see an increase, but not to the size I saw and then carrying on and affecting my overnight levels which also dipped below guideline levels, leaving me feeling tired in the morning. Previously I may not have put that down to my glucose levels, but after it happened twice I realised that maybe my overnight levels appear to be affected by what happens during the day and how I subsequently feel the next day.
I also read Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspe, the Glucose Goddess and she has some great hacks in the book, which I also tested. Some of them showed more improvements for me than others.
The one that worked well for me as I also enjoy it is walking after eating. Previously I always walked before I ate, but I noticed that my blood sugar dropped quite low, giving me more of a spike when I ate, this wasn’t the same for my husband whose blood sugar didn’t drop if he exercised before he ate. But if I exercised after I ate my spike was much less and I didn’t get the drop either, so I will be going for my walks after lunch from now on.
Also eating starchy carbs in the evening wasn’t good for my sleep as I found I was disturbed through fluctuating glucose levels during the night and I woke up feeling tired. I was already eating most of my starchy carbs in the earlier part of the day but now if I do want something like a pizza for dinner then I will be eating a side dish of vegetables before the pizza which will help to decrease the spike and give me more consistent levels through the night.
CGM’s are expensive, around £50 for 4 weeks, but most of the hacks to flatten your glucose levels will benefit most people regardless of whether they are monitoring their levels or not.
If you are feeling tired all the time, gaining weight despite eating well, suffering from cravings during the day especially in the afternoon, have sleep issues, then it might be that your glucose levels are spiking too much throughout the day.
Your HbA1c levels may be good but what is happening daily may be impacting you and addressing it could have a significant impact on how you feel.
References
Marah, A., Forster, A., Richards, E., Hennessy, E., McGowan, B., Bhadra, A., Guo, J., Gelfand, S., Delp, E., Eicher-Miller, H. (2020) ‘The Effect of Timing of Exercise and Eating on Postprandial Response in Adults: A Systematic Review’, Nutrients 12(1):221. doi: 10.3390/nu12010221
Chacko. E., (2017) ‘A time for exercise: the exercise window.’ Journal of applied physiology. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00685.2016
Colberg, S.R., Zarrabi, L., Bennington, L., Nakave, A., Somma, C.T., Swain, D.P., Sechrist. S.R., (2009) ‘Postprandial Walking is Better for Lowering the Glycaemic Effect of Dinner than Pre-Dinner Exercise in Type 2 Diabetic Individuals’, JAMDA Vol 10(Issue 6) pp394-397. Doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2009.03.015
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