The Worst And Best Foods For Your Blood Sugar with Dr. Casey Means

Feb 2, 2022

Dr. Casey Means, a Stanford-trained physician and Co-founder of Levels Health, shares fascinating insights on blood sugar management. She reveals how continuous glucose monitors can personalize nutrition, transforming health choices. Dr. Means discusses surprising blood sugar spikes from seemingly healthy foods, and the benefits of light post-meal movement. Listeners learn about balancing meals with high-fiber options and the dangers of refined carbs in beloved snacks. This conversation empowers individuals to take charge of their metabolic health through informed eating.

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ADVICE

Foods to Avoid

Avoid highly processed foods, refined sugar, and unhealthy oils to prevent chronic diseases.
These foods disrupt cellular function, leading to insulin resistance and dysregulated blood sugar.

INSIGHT

Metabolic Disease Epidemic

The leading cause of death in the Western world is metabolic disease, driven by dysregulated blood sugar.
This underlies conditions like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer's, impacting nine out of ten leading causes of death in the US.

INSIGHT

Effort-Outcome Mismatch

Despite many Americans actively trying to lose weight, the rates of obesity and chronic diseases continue rising.
This highlights a mismatch between effort and outcomes, emphasizing the need for better tools and information.

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This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health, Thrive Market, and InsideTracker.

What if you had a tool that helped you not only make better health decisions but also gave you real-time feedback on how your body uniquely reacts to any kind of food? Thanks to continuous glucose monitors this is something we’ll all be able to take advantage of in the near future. Levels is one company that’s been spearheading the field of wearable technology, providing an incredible amount of information on blood sugar responses and metabolic individuality. I talk to Dr. Casey Means about what we can learn from the 51 million data points Levels has already gathered on blood glucose reactions.

Dr. Casey Means is a Stanford-trained physician, Chief Medical Officer and Co-founder of metabolic health company Levels, an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention, and a Guest Lecturer at Stanford University. Dr. Means’ perspective has been recently featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Men's Health, Forbes, Business Insider, Techcrunch, Entrepreneur Magazine, Metabolism, Endocrine Today, and more.

This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health, Thrive Market, and InsideTracker.

Rupa Health is a place for Functional Medicine practitioners to access more than 2,000 specialty lab tests from over 20 labs like DUTCH, Vibrant America, Genova, Great Plains, and more. You can check out a free live demo with a Q&A or create an account at RupaHealth.com.

Thrive Market is an online membership-based grocery store that makes eating well convenient and more affordable. Join today at thrivemarket.com/hyman to receive an extra 40% off your first order and a free gift.

If you’re curious about getting your own health program dialed-in to your unique needs, check out InsideTracker. Right now they’re offering my listeners 25% off at insidetracker.com/drhyman.

Here are more of the details from our interview (audio version / Apple Subscriber version):

The leading driver of mortality in the Western world (5:52 / 3:46)
The type of foods that are driving cardio and metabolic disease (8:38 / 5:03)
Learnings from 51 million continuous glucose monitor readings (12:28 / 8:53)
Foods commonly believed to be healthy that actually spike blood sugar (20:39 / 17:04)
How various food combinations affect blood sugar (21:16 / 17:44)
Walking after eating can lower glucose levels (23:32 / 20:00)
Foods we should never eat and surprising foods that spike glucose levels (27:27 / 22:07)
Foods that don’t spike blood sugar but should still be avoided (44:22/ 38:52)
How food combinations, sequencing, and when we eat influence glucose levels (51:33 / 46:03)
What are normal and optimal blood sugar levels? (1:06:34 / 1:01:01)

Learn more about Dr. Means’ work at https://www.levelshealth.com/. Levels is currently running a closed beta program. To skip the line and participate in their early access program today, visit levels.link/HYMAN.