What is continuous glucose monitoring?
Continuous glucose monitoring is a game-changer in the world of personalised nutrition. In my opinion everyone should use a continuous glucose monitor (aka CGM) at least once to get a better understanding of what specific foods are doing to their health.
What are Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs)?
They are small sensors that can be worn on the back of the upper arm or next to the tummy button. They have small filaments that are inserted into the interstitial fluid and are able to give a proxy for the amount of glucose (or sugar) in the bloodstream. The sensors communicate with smartphones via Bluetooth and transmit the data to an app continuously. In this way they are able to give real time feedback on exactly what specific foods do to your glucose levels 24 hours a day, for up to 14 days. They will also give insight into how exercise, sleep, stress and caffeine interact with what you have eaten. For me, this has been the most insightful aspect of wearing the monitor.
Why should I care what my blood glucose level is? I’m not diabetic!
Everyone should care. A lot. Glucose levels are intimately tied to our overall health and wellbeing. High or disordered blood glucose levels are the precursor to almost every chronic disease that is common in our world – think cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and of course, most obviously Type 2 diabetes which is a disease defined by high blood glucose levels.
Why is having continuous glucose readings useful?
The best thing about having the information from a CGM is that you can easily improve your results with diet and exercise. And more importantly, you get real time feedback on whether the changes you make are working. You don’t need to wait a few weeks to see if the scales budge, the results will be sitting there in front of you in the 2 hours after you eat it!
This makes CGMs the most practical and useful tool in the nutrition toolbox.
CGMs usually bring enormous benefits for weight loss
Most of my clients who have used CGMs have, as a result of eating in accordance with their glucose levels, lost significant amounts of weight. Why? Whenever glucose is raised insulin is raised and you will never lose weight. This is because insulin is an anabolic hormone and it promotes growth. It tells our body to store and save energy and tells our body not to break down energy stores (e.g. excess weight or fat). Therefore if you make diet changes that lower your blood glucose then your insulin will come down and you will unlock weight loss. It is a well known fact that a decrease in insulin usually precedes weight loss.
Who should use a CGM?
I believe CGMs are most valuable for people who are ‘healthy’, but who are proactive and interested in their health. These are the people who will learn a lot from wearing the device and who are likely to be motivated to make changes once they see the data in real-time. There is nothing more motivating than getting real time feedback on why the cookie you just ate is not doing your health any good. It is much better feedback than anything your Mum or Husband can tell you!
Is this something you would like to try?
Get in touch if you are interested in using a CGM to see what your blood glucose levels do throughout the day. I will help you to get started with the device, to interpret the results, and to decide on which specific diet and lifestyle changes that would best suit you.
Get in touch at info@nickyclarknutrition.com if you would like to discuss or buy one of my CGM packages. CGM packages are available online to people outside of Sydney.
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