Continuous Glucose Monitors

Known as CGMs, continuous glucose monitors were initially designed for patients with Diabetes to better manage their condition, but now they are increasingly being used by pre-diabetic individuals to assist in the fine-tuning of their diet to prevent Type 2 Diabetes becoming their metabolic reality.

Diet & lifestyle as a preventative tool

There was a time – not so long ago – when Nutritional Therapists were ‘eye-rolled’ for suggesting that Type 2 Diabetes could be reversed using diet and lifestyle measures. Fortunately today, even if some doctors haven’t the time to engage or educate patients on the principles of diet and lifestyle measures, they will acknowledge that this route is evidence based and achievable for many patients, as long as they are willing, motivated and supported.

It’s not just sugar in the diet that elevates blood glucose

Nutritional Therapy works best when it is tailored to each individual. It’s a time consuming process as any single person’s habitual diet and exercise routines – or lack of – need to be understood, alongside their lifestyle in general. It’s not just sugar in the diet that elevates blood glucose. Stress, sleep disruption and caffeine can also trigger blood glucose elevations. Using a CGM device makes monitoring blood glucose and the foods and habits that elevate it a whole lot easier.

Most CGMs work via a small subcutaneous sensor that transmits glucose readings to a paired electronic device, like a smart phone, providing information and feedback on blood glucose levels without the need for frequent finger-prick tests.

Some CGM models even offer predictive analytics, alerting users to potential glucose fluctuations before they occur. This proactive approach enables the wearers to make timely adjustments to their diet or activity levels.

Their Role in Prevention

It is true that research shows temporary, transient blood glucose spikes occur all the time in healthy individuals and as such these spikes are not necessarily indicative of metabolic dysfunction.  And the same foods can produce a varying blood glucose response in different individuals, which complicates the use of CGMs as a tool for creating one size fits all, standardised dietary recommendations.  But it’s difficult to argue against their potential for informing personalised, tailored recommendations based on the data generated by an individual’s device.  Monitoring an individual’s blood glucose fluctuations alongside the foods that caused them – with CGMs – allows for a proactive approach to metabolic health.

Education & Compliance

It’s education at the end of the day. For one individual, a breakfast of porridge oats may only mildly elevate their blood glucose, because they sprinkled protein rich nuts on top, and followed it with a boiled egg.  Whereas another person’s porridge might have been a larger portion, made with skimmed milk, and drizzled with Maple syrup. The fats and protein provided by the nuts and the boiled egg in the first breakfast slows digestion and lowers the glycemic hit, neutralising the blood sugar spike of a carbohydrate food like porridge oats.  So when the CGM data reveals a certain meal keeps the blood sugar within a healthy parameter, the wearer discovers what works for them, and is set on a positive route of Diabetes prevention and dietary know-how and compliance.

CGM data can also reveal how stress and sleep deprivation impact a person’s glucose levels. Chronic stress and poor sleep has been shown to dysregulate glucose metabolism, making CGM feedback a very useful tool for identifying where an individual might need to make lifestyle modifications.

So technology is doing us all a big favour here. Metabolic dysfunction has been shown to be a contributory factor not only in the development of Type 2 Diabetes, it is also a risk factor for Cardiovascular disease and Dementia. So if your GP has suggested you may be pre-diabetic, or heading in the direction of Type 2 Diabetes, consider speaking to a Nutritional Therapist and investing in a CGM, to fully understand how your dietary choices and lifestyle are affecting your metabolism, and become proactive in preventing the condition from developing.

Book in to my clinic for support and dietary suggestions.