What I Learned Tracking My Blood Sugar & Why You Should Too (Levels Health CGM)

Levels is bringing continuous glucose monitors (CGM's) to the masses. That's right, CGMs are no longer just for diabetic patients, and that's in large part due to our shifting understanding of metabolic health and its root cause in several chronic diseases.

A continuous glucose monitor nearly-continuously monitors your blood sugar level (technically your interstitial glucose level which is an approximation) allowing you to see blood glucose variations throughout the day. These insights allow us to make changes to our behavior to improve performance and metabolic fitness.

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction
01:37 Improved Performance
02:34 Metabolic Fitness
05:39 1 | The order you eat food matters
06:20 2 | Meal composition
06:42 3 | Exercise is the cheat enabler
07:22 4 | Eating later complicates things
08:06 5 | Poor sleep can cause poor glycemic control
08:23 6 | Meal pacing matters

LINKS FROM VIDEO:

#levels #cgm #biowearable
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Disclaimer: Content of this video is my opinion and does not constitute medical advice. The content and associated links provide general information for general educational purposes only. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Kevin Jubbal, M.D. will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of information contained in this video including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death. May include affiliate links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you).

[alejndraalmirowitsch]

meal timing and meal composition changed my health and productivity forever. previously i just followed the gymbros advice of "just hit your calories and protein bruh", but after reading circadian code by satchin panda and watching contents like you've made, i realized the importance of time restricted eating, delaying caffeine, low carbs meal (but not keto), etc.

[ginabee]

Thank you for addressing food order. I recently started insulin and I also noticed that if I eat carbs first, I will spike quickly, but if I eat protein and/or veggies first, my blood sugar goes up slower.

Also, I am amazed at the effect of a good sleep and a nice walk will do to manage my blood glucose.

[Agtsmirnoff]

Just want to note, as an internal medicine physician with a focus on diabetes and metabolic regulation, interstitial glucose can be 15-20% off from actual blood glucose levels so keep that in mind.

[waynegehman]

Every Type 1 Diabetic: "Finally, people get to know and feel what we go through each day!
Poor sleep? Blood sugar. Tired and worn out? Blood sugar. Anxious and overwhelmed? Blood sugar. This is T1D lives with!

[shaunam]

I used a CGM for 37 days and learned enough to start reversing my insulin resistance. A lot of people think it's as simple as just eating better and exercising, but in my case, it was my gastroparesis. The "standard" gastroparesis advice to eat small meals throughout the day was causing my bg to stay elevated almost all day and all night. If food is in my stomach, I'm usually up around 120. Which isn't that high, but when you're 120 all night, every night, your a1c will go up. I started VERY strict intermittent fasting and my numbers look better, my overwhelming sugar cravings disappeared, and I'm losing weight without trying. I'm not counting calories or anything. Both my parents have type 2 and I'm hoping to avoid it. If anything changes like I start having sugar cravings again or stop losing weight, I'll use a CGM again to see what's changed. These shouldn't be just for diabetics. With so many people becoming diabetic, shouldn't we be trying to PREVENT some of those cases? Both my parents use a CGM all the time, and probably will till they die. Imagine if they had a CGM for just a month or two, years ago, and managed to avoid type 2 altogether. My bf has type 2 and I convinced him to wear one. He's learning a lot about how he reacts to various things. Not just different foods but exercise, stress, etc. His insurance won't pay for it though so we're gathering as much data as possible while he has it.

[erich]

Why are CGMs not available to the general public over-the-counter without a prescription? Are processed food companies lobbying against? Are medical associations lobbying against? Is Big Pharma lobbying against? With greater demand comes competition, lower prices, and innovation.

[alanle]

Great video. Thanks! Excellent advice.
Eat fiber first. Order of eating matters. Exercise matters. Eating later matters. Poor Sleep increases sugar variability...

[vagabondmom]

This is super helpful. I have a son who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 2 years ago and have noticed these things with his blood sugar management. Recently we went to an Orlando theme park and when combining huge amounts of walking with higher carb foods *really* helped. I was surprised at how much better the management was.

One other item that he did not mention was the impact of water on blood sugar regulation. It’s HUGE. When dehydrated it is much more difficult to bring down high blood sugars and when we’ll hydrated it’s like magic. Water alone or especially with exercise can drop a blood glucose level like a rock. 👍🏻

[hmlab]

Retired Medical Technologist and Type 2 Diabetic (20 years) here... achieved diet control in 4 months after following "Beat Diabetes" challenge on YouTube! I firmly believe that the CGM management will be THE WAY to go, and would have loved to have had the opportunity to join a trial... my phone, however, will not "comply", neither would Medicare!

[romangiacomino]

as a broke college student… i’ll add this to the list of things i’ll buy ONE DAY

[xervoo]

Regarding point 3. The reason the BS doesn't spike is because the body has used up your sugar reserves in the muscles, which are going to be filled up before letting sugar get into other cells. The muscles can take in sugar without any insulin, so the time-lag between sugar -> insulin normally expected will not happen.

This intake of sugar into the muscles is also why you need to eat much more after exercising than normally. You want to eat a meal + the amount required to fill up the muscle sugar reserves.

The reason walking also works in reducing spikes is due to muscles using some of the sugar entering your blood.

For diabetics these are the reasons why we need to reduce the amount of insulin if we exercise after eating (within 2-3 hours) or if we have just exercised intensely (light exercise doesn't use up sugar reserves to any large extent (normally)).

I am not a doctor, just a T1 diabetic.

[lucky]

Sheesh the quality keeps getting better every video

[Ceraph]

I never knew that it was actually a thing but could tell that eating veggies first in my meals makes me feel better

[firstlast]

My glucose meter was a life changer I will never go back to listening to doctors who know nothing about health

[davidg.johnson]

Dr. Sinclair, a leading doctor on reversing aging wears one to make sure he doesn't have high glucose spikes and to see which food causes it.

[bbldb]

I’m a low carb guy 75 years old and I am a metabolic super power. I would like that monitor. Great video.

[logandavid]

Interesting and informative video. I have had type 1 diabetes for 7 years now, with a CGM for most of that time. I could relate to pretty much all of what you said in the video, most notably the energy drain I feel after experiencing a sudden rise and fall in my glucose. I had always suspected that was the case, and this only confirms this.

Being diabetic my sugars naturally are quite a bit less controlled than the normal person, but with the help of my CGM I can lead almost a normal life while not sacrificing on eating (most of) the foods I love (a1c of 6.2!). Overall loved your video and it was incredibly interesting to hear the perspective of a non type 1 diabetic analyzing their glucose levels during the day.

[himsanctified]

CGM's need to be Over The Counter-OTC. It should not be illegal for us to track our own glucose. Game changer for my diet and fight against Type2. Speaking of "fight", I have to do that with my doctor and go around him to get a prescription. Says I dont need it cuz I'm "managing it and only need to test once per day". What a quack.

[patrickearley]

Can you do a video on more wearables? How to track your health in a meaningful way and experiment with diets, exercise, and sleep using your own data?

[ruthterry]

I’m interested to know how the study defines metabolic dysfunction… A1C? Triglycerides? A suite of measurable numbers?