I try to stress that dietary needs can be very individual and sometimes it can take some trial and error to figure out a way of eating that works best for you. If anyone ever tells you that keto, paleo, carnivore, veganism, etc. etc. is 100% the best diet for everyone then you should turn around and run in the other direction as fast as possible. Sure, some of these diets might work great for some people, but that doesn’t mean it is what is right for you. Although we are all human ( well, hopefully you are ) we can all have different responses to food. One of those responses being glucose levels.

You may have heard some of the biggest contributors to Covid19 complications are: obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. These are all part of our metabolic health.

The word metabolism gets thrown around a lot in the fitness industry. You may have seen products claim that they will “boost” your metabolism or you may have heard Karen talk about her slow metabolism over lunch. But what exactly is metabolism?

Metabolism is the set of cellular mechanisms that produce energy from our food and environment to power every process in the human body.

Metabolism may be a fitness buzzword but its actually quite broad and complex. It is not just about how many calories you burn or don’t burn. It involves all the systems in the body. Metabolism regulates our sleep, appetite, and energy levels. It is what keeps us alive.

Unfortunately a vast majority of the US population struggles with their metabolic health mostly due to poor nutrition and exercise habits.

Statistics from the CDC:

Diabetes:

Total: 34.2 million people have diabetes (10.5% of the US population)
Diagnosed: 26.9 million people, including 26.8 million adults
Undiagnosed: 7.3 million people (21.4% are undiagnosed)

Pre-diabetes:

Total: 88 million people aged 18 years or older have prediabetes (34.5% of the adult US population)
65 years or older: 24.2 million people aged 65 years or older have prediabetes

Considering uncontrolled diabetes is one of the leading causes of complications from Covid19 it really got me digging deeper into prevention and ways to improve metabolic health even for the average “healthy” individual such as myself.

I stumbled across a company called Levels that is doing something called Continuous Glucose Monitoring for healthy individuals looking to improve their metabolic health, find their optimal diet, or improve their sports performance. CGM ( Continual Glucose Monitoring ) is common among diabetics but it is now being used for people to get more specific data about their current health.

According to the ADA the standard guidelines for glucose levels are:

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You have probably had your fasted glucose tested at least once in your life via a blood test, but it turns out post meal glucose levels can also be important in regards to your health.

“High post-meal glucose levels are linked to worsened glucose control over time, development of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and impaired exercise and cognitive performance. While it is not unexpected for glucose levels to increase after a meal as the glucose from the meal is released into the blood, if this level is too high it is not good for health and can predispose one to disease over time. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) guidelines for the management of post-meal glucose levels, nondiabetic people should have a glucose level of no higher than 140 mg/dl after meals, and glucose should return to pre-meal levels within 2-3 hours. Post-meal hyperglycemia (elevated glucose) is defined as a glucose level >140 mg/dl 1-2 hours after ingestion of food or drinks.”

After doing more research about metabolic health and disease prevention, I got super curious about my own metabolic health and how different foods affect me. I’ve tried a variety of different diets throughout my life to see what I felt optimal on. I had a pretty rough struggle with IBS for years. I’ve been vegan/vegetarian, and then moved on to more of a “paleo” type of diet. Eventually I fell upon a diet that is just sticking to whole foods as much as possible. I’ve got no labels for it, I just avoid foods that don’t make me feel great, and stick to eating foods that my body seems to agree with.

Although I feel great with how I am eating now, I am a nerd and I love data and insight to how my body reacts to what I am eating. CGM takes a bit of the guesswork out for you which I find kind of amazing. I am always down to make some improvements with my diet based off data that I can’t ignore.

So far I am on day two of using the Levels CGM program. It has been quite fascinating to see real time data about how my body uses the food I eat, and how exercise has an effect on my glucose levels as well. For example: If I drink a kombucha while I am working, I will see my blood sugar spike up into the 100’s, but if I drink a kombucha and take a walk after, it tends to stay in the 90’s. It just show’s how important both diet and exercise can be when it comes to metabolic health.

It can be easy to ignore your nutrition when the effects of your questionable choices take years to build up. With this program showing you in real time how food affects your body, it makes it much harder to ignore. This could be a game changer for those having a hard time making a connection with health and food choices. Then again, i’ve seen plenty of people ignore data…but hopefully this data will hit on a more personal level.

I might continue to document my own experience on here with Levels/CGM for shits and giggles. Looking forward to finding more info out about my own health!

If you want to know more go to www.levelshealth.com

Oh and if you are wondering… no I didn’t get paid for this. I actually had to pay for the sensors and program, I am just really excited about it because I am a nerd.

This is why I always have a hard time answering the question “What do you like to do for fun?” — I like to collect data about my metabolism and write about health and fitness. Definitely have no idea why I am single.

Let me know your thoughts!