What it is:
Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) involves wearing a small compact device that measures your blood glucose (BG) levels, giving real-time feedback and allowing you to make choices directly aligned with optimized health.
Our blood glucose response is highly individualized, so a CGM can provide insight into responses and patterns to assist in developing a personalized nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle program.
Understanding your blood glucose trends can help you maintain consistent hormone and insulin levels, preventing long-term inflammation and decreasing the risk of disease and disability. A balanced blood glucose level prevents rapid or excessive release of insulin and, therefore, insulin resistance over time. Allowing for a longer, higher quality of life.
Purported claims:
CGM gives insight into maintaining balanced blood glucose levels, possibly allowing for the following:
Healthy weight maintenance and metabolism
Stable/consistent energy, mood, and feelings of well-being.
Reduce chronic inflammation.
Optimal environment for our organs.
Avoidance of chronic disease and disability.
Improve hormone balance.
Promote longevity and quality of life.
What the science says:
Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) among healthy adults is a relatively new area of research. The interpretation of CGM data in the absence of diabetes still requires further information as target glucose ranges and goals differ from those without diagnosed metabolic issues. The primary reason for healthy adults to try a CGM is to educate themselves with visual data on how their blood glucose levels respond to different factors.
The key findings from current research that one might discover by using a CGM are:
Dietary Impact - How different foods and meals' quality, quantity, and timing affect your blood glucose.
Quality: For example, foods to explore are:
High glycemic foods, especially highly processed foods.
High-quality proteins and fats slow carbohydrate digestion and, as a result, glucose absorption.
High-fiber carbohydrates and viscous, soluble fibers impact.
Quantity
Portion control and the balance of protein, fats, and carbohydrates affect on your blood glucose.
Timing
The sequence of how you eat your meal. For example:
Non-starchy vegetables (eg. Bell peppers, Broccoli, Spinach)
Protein and fats (eg. Grass-fed beef, Olive Oil, Salmon)
Finally, starches (eg. Sweet potatoes, Bread, Pasta)
Or looking at the effect of consuming dessert closer to a meal versus as a solo item.
Physical Activity - CGM can show the impact of different exercises, intensity, and duration on blood glucose response.
Cardio - Exercise can raise the heart rate aiding in the flow of blood and glucose uptake.
Resistance training keeps your bones and muscles strong and increases your capacity to store blood glucose as glycogen in your muscles.
Movement - Any type, whether incremental (stretching) or lengthened (10-15 min walk after meals) can support optimal BG response.
Rejuvenation - The quality, quantity, and timing of your sleep choices can impact how you're able to regulate your blood glucose. Breath work and stress levels also come into play when optimizing your metabolic health.
Our take:
Glucose monitoring research has shown positive insight into how habits influence the body, allowing for real-time alterations and awareness to adopt healthier behaviors.
As with any new information or technology, taking the results with a cautious but open approach will allow you to test and trial the lifestyle habits that work for you.
While continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has numerous benefits, it's essential to be aware of its limitations. The calibration, accuracy, and data interpretation of CGM sensors requires guidance from healthcare professionals to derive meaningful insights and prevent misunderstandings. Your Apeiron Life team will work closely with you to get the most out of your CGM experience.
Will this benefit you?
Yes. Gaining insight into your individual needs can help form healthy lifestyle changes and encourage a better understanding of your metabolic health.
Still curious to try it? If you do, here’s what to keep an eye on:
Individuals should take caution if they have a history of disordered eating, anxiety, or other disorders related to hyper-focusing and body image. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) may potentially be triggering for some individuals.
Comments