For fast few days I have started to track how my food impacts my glucose levels. I am tracking my blood glucose with devices called, CGM (continuous glucose monitors). The sensor itself is pretty small and painless to attach to your body
Glucose levels are closely associated with how you feel. Too much swing in your glucose level can make you feel tired. And no, you don’t have to be a diabetic to experience these glucose swings. These swings eventually lead to insulin resistance commonly known as diabetes. You want your blood glucose levels to be as stable throughout the day providing you steady energy. Additionally, each of our metabolism is different. So, an Apple may have a completely different impact on my blood glucose than yours.
So, what did I notice in the first few days:
(1) Morning Spike: I noticed that my glucose spiked right at the time I was waking up. It was below 90 most of the time while I was sleeping but it picked up in the morning without me even eating. I was worried for a moment that I was pre-diabetic. However, on Googling, I found that this is completely normal. This is the body getting ready for the day by increasing your cortisol and pumping your blood sugar.
So what?
To make the best use of this increased glucose in the blood, experts recommend that you exercise in the morning. I changed my routine and now I work out in the morning rather than in the evening.
(2) Post-meal Sugar spike and crash: You can control your post-meal sugar spike (and the subsequent crash) much better by having a serving or two of green salad before you eat your carbs. I have a sweet tooth so I need something sweet post-meal. In the afternoon, it led to huge swings and I always felt lethargic. Here is how it went when I simply had two candies without greens:
So what?
Now, I eat a green salad before putting carbs in my body and there is no spike. Eat your favorite carbs guilt free 🙂. An example of a desert (mango) with greens
(3) Walk after meals: One of the most effective ways to control the glucose spike after meals is to have a quick walk around the block. Attaching a screenshot of my logs. How a 15 minute walk reduced the glucose from 163 to 66
Product thoughts:
The app interface and features leave so much to desire for. The product manager in me can’t help but cringe at this. I hope these companies find better PMs and designers to make the most of this fantastic hardware.