Imagine driving a car without understanding what the symbols, meters and gauges on your dashboard are telling you. You only go to the mechanic when smoke is coming out from your hood or when the brakes seem shaky. If you are more pro-active, you might schedule an annual check-up only to be told, “all looks normal.” Until one day, it doesn’t.
This isn’t unlike the way we approach our health.
My story goes something like this: my life was filled with late nights and red-eye flights. I powered my days with caffeine and self medicated my nights with wine. I sat at my desk for way too many hours. I had been “gunning my engine” for years with seemingly little impact to my metabolic health. Yet a few rattles started to persist and got louder. It wasn’t until I got some bloodwork years later that I finally paid attention — an elevated fasting glucose and A1c showed that I was on the cusp of prediabetes.
Warning Signals
I knew something was off — but as someone who wasn’t overweight with poor eating habits, I couldn’t imagine that I was metabolically unfit. None of my doctors connected the dots. It turns out that my minor symptoms (energy crashes, allergies, skin and gut issues) were all indications that I had dysregulated glucose levels — and probably for over a decade. They set off inflammatory signals and led to prediabetes. Sadly, I wasn’t alone.
96 million people aged 18 years or older have prediabetes (38.0% of the adult US population)
— CDC - June 2022
From the list below, how many can you relate to? 1
Feeling dizzy, shaky or “hangry” when meals are delayed
The need to eat every few hours
Difficulty losing weight
Waist size is above 40 inches (male) or 35 inches (female)
Cravings for sweets
Brain fog
Sleepiness midmorning or mid-afternoon or general fatigue all the time
Missed periods, PMS or PCOS
Reduced libido or difficulty keeping an erection
Anxiety, depression or mood disorders
Difficulty sleeping or waking up with rapid heart beat
Acne or other inflammatory skin conditions
They can all be signs of imbalanced blood glucose and insulin resistance. As you can see, this is more than just the eventual risk of getting diabetes. Each of these symptoms robs you of quality of life in the short term as well as sets you off on a course towards other chronic diseases like high blood pressure or accelerated cognitive decline.
Blood sugar dysregulation & metabolic dysfunction is -- bar none -- the most dangerous epidemic in human history. It is sneaky, it underlies 9 of the 10 leading causes of death in the US, it affects 88% of American adults, and is mostly preventable.
— Dr Casey Means
The First 5 Steps to Managing Your Blood Glucose Levels
The good news is that the glucose biomarker is the one that we can manage the most easily through diet and lifestyle changes. But, as my friend Dr Molly Maloof advised, “you can’t fix what you can’t measure.”
I reversed my prediabetes in four months (and reduced all of my symptoms). Here’s how you can start your journey:
1. Get your bloodwork done
Your annual wellness exam should test your Hemoglobin A1c and fasting glucose. Insist on adding fasting insulin which helps to paint a more accurate picture of your metabolic health. Your insulin levels can rise years before your A1c in an effort to process all of the excess glucose in your bloodstream.
HbA1C - Optimal: < 5.4%
Normal: < 5.6 | Prediabetes: 5.7% - 6.4% | Diabetes: > 6.5%
Fasting Glucose - Optimal: 72-85 mg/dl
Normal: < 100mg/dl | Prediabetes: 100-125 mg/dl | Diabetes: > 125 mg/dl
Fasting Insulin - Optimal < 6 mIU/ml
Normal: < 25 mIU/ml
2. Use a Continuous Glucose Monitor
This prescription wearable ($150) will help you understand in real time what impacts your blood sugar (either positively or negatively) including food, fitness, sleep and stress. Levels2, January and Nutrisense have apps to visualize the data to support habit changes. Use the first 30 days to learn and the next to swap out food and deploy the hacks. Insurance may cover a portion of the CGM, especially with a prediabetes diagnosis. A more affordable option is a finger prick monitor ($20).
3. Avoid Refined Carbs and Sugar
The obvious items to stay way from include pastries, pasta and bread, as well as fries. If you do eat carbs, start with a salad or a shot of vinegar to lessen the impact. Beyond the typical dessert or candy, sugar is hiding in unexpected places like yogurt and condiments so check labels.
Every 4 grams of added sugar is a teaspoon!
Dried fruit and juice are packed with concentrated sugar so eat whole fruit (to benefit from the fiber) in small quantities instead
4. Walk After a Meal
Your muscles are effective at pulling glucose out of your bloodstream so even a 10 min walk after a meal will blunt a glucose spike and keep you from the adverse symptoms like sugar cravings or brain fog associated with blood sugar crashes. Twenty jumping lunges or squats can work in a pinch.
5. Support with Supplements
Berberine has be shown to lower fasting and postprandial blood sugar as well as HbA1c, fasting insulin and total LDL cholesterol. Suggested dose is 500 mg two to three times a day. Other supplements that help to stabilize blood sugar include alpha lipoic acid, vitamin D and bitter melon.3 Read my deep dive on berberine and weight loss here.
There are so many more blood sugar hacks and tips to share which I’ll continue to do. Leave me a question or comment about what you want to learn next! If the content resonates with you, subscribe, drop a like or share with a friend who might benefit from this information.
Celia’s Recommendations
There is A LOT on the topic of insulin resistance and blood sugar management so here are a few to begin your research from understanding why sugar is so damaging to daily hacks to steady your blood glucose.
Podcast: The Doctor’s Farmacy - The Secret to Longevity, Reversing Disease and Optimizing Health: Fixing Metabolism with Dr. Casey Means
Podcast: Dhru Purohit Podcast - The Bitter Truth About Sugar & How It’s Destroying your Health with Dr Robert Lustig
Podcast: The Genius Life with Max Lugavere - Powerful Hacks to Balance your Blood Sugar and Fix Your Hormones with Glucose Goddess
Book: The Spark Factor: The Secret to Supercharging Energy, Becoming Resilient, and Feeling Better Than Ever by Molly Maloof, MD
Instagram: @glucosegoddess
All writing is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Disclaimer: I used Levels with a CGM to help manage my blood sugar. I was so impressed with their education around metabolic health and their user-friendly app, that I became a small investor. As a health coach, I have partnered with them to offer my clients a special perk. My sign-up link here.