There’s a new kid on the wellness block: glucose, or blood sugar. And it’s gathering hype for good reason: it’s teaching us how to solve our problems—from weight gain and acne to infertility and cravings.
Jessie Inchauspé, also known as the Glucose Goddess, is here to tell us all about today’s topic.
The only time you might hear about your blood sugar is during your yearly physical with your doctor. And unless you have diabetes, that’s probably the end of it.
Well, things are changing. Recent scientific studies show us that we should all care about our glucose levels: 80% of people who don’t have diabetes experience glucose spikes every day after eating.
The consequence of these spikes? A chain reaction of inflammation, aging, and insulin release inside our body that leads to symptoms we are all too familiar with: wrinkles, acne, cravings, chronic fatigue, weight gain, insomnia, infertility, mood swings … Sound familiar? Let’s dive in.
What’s a glucose spike?
A glucose spike is a big increase in our blood sugar concentration after eating. A spike usually happens after we eat a meal that is high in sweet or starchy food. A glucose spike is followed by a drop, or a “sugar crash.” Most of us are on a rollercoaster all day long—spike, drop, spike, drop. And we feel the effects keenly.
How spikes lead to cravings
Every time our glucose levels drop after a spike, the cravings center in our brain activates. The consequence? Processed foods and sugar look very, very appealing. It’s not a lack of willpower—it’s our glucose levels.
How spikes lead to wrinkles and aging
The more we spike, the faster we age. Crazy, but true. Every glucose spike accelerates a process called glycation in the body—which ages us internally and externally. When glycation attacks our collagen, we develop wrinkles.
How spikes lead to weight gain
Our body’s defense mechanism against glucose spikes is to stash glucose away into our fat cells. This leads to the fat cells growing in size, and with them, our waist size. With fewer glucose spikes comes less fat gain, and a much easier time shedding weight.
How do we avoid glucose spikes?
You’re done with diets? So are we. Avoiding glucose spikes is not about calorie counting or saying goodbye to carbs. The trick? Incorporating Glucose Goddess hacks: opting for a savory instead of a sweet breakfast, adding a vegetable starter to every meal, drinking a tablespoon of vinegar in water before eating something sweet, using our muscles for 10 minutes after eating, and eating our food in the right order. And when we want that amazing-looking cake—eating it as dessert at our next meal instead of on an empty stomach.
Try these for a day and watch yourself transform.
Jessie Inchauspé is the founder of the widely popular Instagram account @glucosegoddess, teaching hundreds of thousands about healthy food habits. She holds a bachelor’s in mathematics from King’s College, London, and a master’s in biochemistry from Georgetown University. Her first book, Glucose Revolution, is out in spring 2022.
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