The Glycemic Index | Why Most People in the United States Don’t Feel Well | Dr. Casey Means

Why diet is not one-size-fits-all and how you can find one that works for you.

Levels advisors Dr. Casey Means and Dr. Mark Hyman chat about bio-individuality, or how the same foods affect people differently.

🔬 Dr. Means shares info about a 2015 study published in the journal Cell (PMID: 26590418)

- Researchers used a continuous glucose monitor to track the glucose responses to nearly 50K meals in 800 adults who did not have type 2 diabetes.
- Each participant wore a CGM for 1 week and logged meals, physical activity, and sleep.
- They followed their normal routines and eating habits, except for their first meal of the day, which was 1 of 4 standard meal options.
- The scientists found a high interpersonal variability of glucose responses when different people ate the SAME meals.
- Some people’s glucose raised 10 mg/dL; others went up 100 mg/dL, again to the SAME foods.
- Researchers believe peoples’ microbiomes were a key factor in how they responded.
- They used machine learning to predict participants’ glucose responses.
- Factors included in the predicted response were a person’s blood parameters (e.g., blood pressure and cholesterol), gut microbiome, dietary habits, physical activity, and anthropometrics—body measurements.
- The researchers replicated their findings with a different group of 100 participants.
- They found that personalized dietary changes over just 1 week helped improve postprandial (after-meal) glucose responses and reduced glycemic variability.
- This is why we need ways of determining, in real time, how foods affect our individual health, rather than following one-size-fits-all dietary advice.

✅ Wearing a continuous glucose monitor can help you track your glucose responses. “It really comes down to choices,” Dr. Means says. “And right now we don’t have a lot of help to understand what choices to make for our own body. And that’s where wearables—especially bio wearables—can be very helpful.”

#metabolichealth #metabolism #CGM #levelshealth #healthtips #healthy #healthylife #bloodsugar

👋 WHO WE ARE:

Levels helps you see how food affects your health. With real-time, personalized data gathered through biosensors like continuous glucose monitors (CGM), you learn which diet and lifestyle choices improve your metabolic health so you can live a longer, fuller, healthier life.

🔗 LINKS:

[Khalid]

Does anyone know where I can find this study?

[_m_K_.]

I used to listen to Dr. Dean Edell on the radio over 20 years ago well before social media, and he would say (paraphrasing) "if everyone in the world ate the same thing, do you think everyone would turn out the same? Some people would gain weight, others would lose weight, some would good healthier, others may get sick... we are all different."
I always appreciated his pragmatic wisdom and nuance on matters.

[Platypus]

I asked my doctor for a continuous glucose monitor and she said no. She said I'm not diabetic ( but I'm pre-diabetic and I'm trying to nip it in the bud) I knew of these individual responses, and I want to custom make a plan for myself or I can still enjoy some treats but get my blood sugar down. The medical field is reactive not proactive

[jojokeane]

Hallelujah! Someone who understands that people are different. I have cholesterol levels 6x above what's considered healthy. Yet, I eat well with very little fat. I have no evidence of heart disease. My Mother had the same "problem". She lived to be 95. She never had heart issues.

[tonilyday]

I believe you are not only right about the difference in people, but also the state of your physical and mental state of each of us.

[gillianparkinson]

I fully agree with her... I am not a protocol... I am an individual...

[whatisahandle]

Yes! Healthcare needs to get personalized!

[wenchefauske]

Ethnicity has an huge impact on how the body reacts in differents food

[shortyylu]

YES THE MICROBIOME IS SUPERRRR FREAKIN IMPORTANT! And so many don’t realize it

[musiclover]

My husband, of 32 yrs, 60 and his 90 yrs old dad are sugar and snack addicts. His dad is also an everyday drinker who used to smoke. They have yearly checkups with absolutely no blood sugar, heart disease or anything else going on. I became pre-diabetic at 50 with a healthy diet🤦🏽‍♀️

[ecsasterix]

Yes I had this when I had gestational diabetes. A cup of grapes spiked my sugar levels like crazy but a donut was nothing

[psfca]

True, I can eat or peanuts all day no problem and someone else can eat 1 peanut and go into anaphylaxis, people are different and we must find the diet that optimize our health wether it be carnivore, plant based, keto etc..

[peterpoertner]

It’s amazing! She just stumbled upon a previously unknown theory that not all diets, foods and workout programs work for everyone! That person A may have to take a different approach to a healthy self than person B. Who knew?! It will revolutionize the world!

[nimimerkillinen]

hell yeah, a channel without looming or overstimulating music

[frenchfry]

It still amazes me that they still have standardized anything for people. We're not genetically the same, so we don't react to the same things the same way. One size does not fit all.

[brain-gymnastic]

Yes, as a diabetic with sensor control, you have had so many aha moments. What she says is right. I eat some things where I assume my sugar will go up, but almost nothing happens. And vice versa. You can also see in my blood sugar diagram when I got up in the morning. As if I had eaten a large meal. But I only went to the toilet.

[cynthiachenard]

Need to factor in exercise levels and when (before or after eating) someone exercises. This can reduce spikes in blood sugar.
So food, the order in which you eat foods, genetics, stress, gut bacteria, exercise (and likely many other factors) effect blood sugar levels. Looking at food effects in a vacuum are basically useless.

[mregg]

This is standard information that has been known for many decades
...literally one of the first things i was told 12 years ago when confirming type 1 diabetes

[carmellam.]

Now, add constant stress (out of the person's control) to the study...that will add a bit more nuances.

[thedatepro]

Another factor is how much insulin is the Pancreas making. Another factor is nervous system dysregulation. Another factor is trauma. There is a lot of nuance to how and why blood sugar spikes are different for each individual. Most doctors don't test people's fasting insulin which is a key test I recommend people take, especially if they've never had one done before or are over age 40.