Why do some people feel fine eating lots of carbs when others feel energy slumps? Is blood sugar to blame?

In this episode, we learn why blood sugar varies so much between people, and the tools to manage these levels. 

Tim Spector and Jessie Inchauspé (aka the Glucose Goddess) will discuss the latest science around glucose control, what the cool new device on the block – the CGM – can tell us and why blood sugar levels are only one part of the picture of our health.

Jessie is a bestselling author and science communicator with a community of over 5 million followers. Tim is a professor of epidemiology at King’s College London and ZOE’s scientific co-founder.

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Timecodes:

00:00 Introduction

01:14 Quickfire questions

02:39 What is glucose?

07:50 What are blood sugar spikes?

09:15 Are lots of spikes dangerous?

10:45 What happens when your blood sugar spikes?

14:03 Should I worry about blood sugar levels?

15:11 HbA1c and fasting glucose explained

19:30 What are CGMs?

23:24 How breakfast impacts the rest of your day

29:07 Eat these foods first

33:12 Can physical activity reduce spikes?

35:46 How gut microbiome and blood fat play a role

41:39 The risks of ultra-processed foods

Find more from Jessie at glucosegoddess.com 

Books by our ZOE Scientists:

• Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati
• Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector
• Fibre Fuelled by Dr Will Bulsiewicz

Free resources from ZOE:

• Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition 
• Gut Guide - for a healthier microbiome in weeks

Studies relevant to this episode:

• CGMap: Characterizing continuous glucose monitor data in thousands of non-diabetic individuals. (2023) published in Cell Metabolism.
• Dose–response relationship between genetically proxied average blood glucose levels and incident coronary heart disease in individuals without diabetes mellitus. (2021) published in Diabetologia.
• Optimised Glucose “Time in Range” Using Continuous Glucose Monitors in 4,805 Non-Diabetic Individuals Is Associated With Favourable Diet and Health: The ZOE PREDICT Studies. (2022). published in Current Developments in Nutrition. 
• Normal Fasting Plasma Glucose Levels and Type 2 Diabetes in Young Men (2005). published in NEJM 

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.

Episode transcripts are available here.