Continuous Glucose Monitors

Glycemic index. Hypoglycemia. Hyperglycemia. Insulin dump. Fasting glucose. Hypoglycemic unawareness. Fingerstick…and on and on. Ever heard of these terms thrown around and wonder what they are about? How they relate to your body? 

Most of us who have been actively putting some intention into our day-to-day food choices, often wonder what our body is doing in real time. I know I do. I find that it is so much easier to be mindful about putting the right things into my body when I know how my body reacts to it in real time (at least in glycemic terms). 

Realistically, there are many facets of understanding the breakdown absorption of nutrition by our body. No single measurement can accurately provide our body’s “health status”. But one crucial component is blood glucose fluctuations which can reflect how your body processes the key components in our food. I could delve into the mechanisms of insulin resistance and diabetes/prediabetes and the normal values – but for that this blog would turn into books with volumes! (and there are plenty of those with credible authors).

I want to focus on the value of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). These are devices that attach to the back of your upper arm and stay there for 14 days at a time and are able measure your blood glucose in real time, with pretty close accuracy. The technology now connects to an app on your phone via Bluetooth. I recommend these to my patients who are interested in knowing their blood glucose trends in reaction to their diet. I recommend, that for the first 14-30 days no changes to be made to your normal diet. This allows you to truly see what your body has been doing on your current eating habits. Don’t forget to make notes! And after that, during the next block of time, start making intentional changes and re-evaluate. Will you need to make major changes to your food choices? Or minor changes may be just as impactful? You may be surprised!!