Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for healthy people is becoming big business — and 2024 has been a huge year.
Abbott Lingo biowearable made its debut in the UK and expanded to the US, and Dexcom launched its Stelo CGM, targeting individuals with pre-diabetes.
But perhaps the biggest shift in the landscape of consumer CGMs came with Dexcom’s $75m investment in Oura. It formed a partnership that integrates Stelo’s data with Oura’s platform, which will see vital sleep and stress data live alongside blood glucose data for an all-around analysis of metabolic health.
Having tried various glucose-tracking apps, I’ve gained valuable insights about my body and the effect of food and external factors on my wellbeing.
But using a CGM, interpreting the data, and making lifestyle adjustments has felt overwhelming.
Tracking meals, analyzing glucose spikes, and understanding our body’s varied responses to food often generate more questions than answers.
Personally, improving my metabolic health has been more challenging than achieving goals related to exercise, sleep, or any other wearable tech-driven objectives.
For this week’s PULSE by Wareable podcast, I spoke to Sophie Bertrand. She is Abbott Lingo’s nutritionist-in-chief, author of Forking Wellness, and nutrition influencer.
We spoke about who might use Lingo and the challenges they might be looking to solve. After that, I asked her a bunch of questions from my time using Lingo—from how to better understand my data, ideas for glucose choices, and most importantly, the alternative to eating so many omelets.
Watch the conversation here:
Sophie’s tips for using CGMs to improve your health:
1. Look for prolonged spikes: Prolonged glucose spikes can lead to health issues – but spikes that quickly come down aren’t too problematic. Long spikes that stay out of range are worse for our health.
2. Prioritize protein and healthy fats: Adding protein to your portions can stabilize glucose levels. Leafy greens and eggs can make a big difference.
3. Movement after meals can improve glucose responses: Even 10 squats at your desk or a 10-minute walk can make a huge difference to the impact of what we eat
4. Sleep better: Sleep quality affects our glucose levels so it’s not just about what you eat — rest well too.
5. If you do get poor sleep, make a good choice: When we’re tired it affects dietary choices and energy levels. We’re more likely to reach for carbs and sugary food – and the resulting slumps in energy can cause a vicious cycle of reaching for more glucose spiking food.
6. Log your food: Logging can help identify triggers for glucose spikes. You might notice that eating the same meal can lead to vastly different outcomes – comparing these impacts can help us understand outside factors.
7. Chill out: Stress management techniques can improve metabolic health and help lower our glucose spikes by reducing cortisol in our bodies.
