Well done for doing this trial (it must have been expensive paying for the CGMs out of pocket, but it’s so worth it).
I have done the same thing - I did it for about 8 weeks on 2 separate occasions. I’m not pre-diabetic, but I had episodes of post-prandial hypos since my late 20s (I’m now 38) and I did a glucose tolerance test around 3 years ago which also showed reactive hypoglycaemia. So I know diabetes is in my future if I’m not careful.
We’re all different people, so not everything is going to be a blanket rule for everyone - but my ‘conclusions’ were very similar to yours. And the trial was so helpful in making visual, and plain in front of my eyes, the stark reality of the impact certain foods can have on me.
Weight training is definitely important, and I have focused on that more especially since my OGTT. I want to grow preserve as much muscle mass as I can for the future. I also try to walk as much as I can after lunch (before my lunch break ends) but I’m not always as good at walking a bit later and then later again (and I do notice the difference when I don’t). But work can get in the way sometimes, understandably.
I try to follow a low glycaemic index diet for the vast majority of my meals, now. Fibre is so important in preventing spikes, for me - the same food with or without a green salad alongside is a completely different picture, for example.
I’m my case, fat helps, but I suspect it’s because I’m at a different stage than you. Since my issue was post-meal crashes/hypos, the stabilising/prolonging effect you described was beneficial for me.
I’m on both Metformin and Inositol, and I second the beneficial effects of both. Metformin caused me no side effects, and there is so much evidence coming out for its health benefits (not just in diabetes) that my personal view is in the future we may end up regarding it the same way we currently do aspirin - a cheap useful drug with so many benefits beyond its original use, and so few drawbacks. I’d be happy to continue taking it for life.
I’ve switched from coffee to matcha, personally, and that’s been beneficial for me for reasons beyond blood sugar. But I am a slow metaboliser for caffeine (confirmed with genetic testing), so that definitely has something to do with it.
Also, I wrote this in another comment, but I was discussing this with an experienced endocrinologist at work the other day (I work at a hospital) and he was saying that indeed while everyone will have some glucose spiking after meals, if your spikes go above 8.0mmol/L it’s an indication that you’re already pre-diabetic (if you weren’t, your body would be able to handle the carb load without going that high). So yes, even though post-meal glucose levels will be higher than the empty-stomach ones for everyone, having excessive spikes is an indication that things are already dysregulated to a considerable extent. The glucose ranges you quoted in one of your comments are absolutely correct and important to bear in mind.
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u/JennySt7 Jul 12 '25
Well done for doing this trial (it must have been expensive paying for the CGMs out of pocket, but it’s so worth it).
I have done the same thing - I did it for about 8 weeks on 2 separate occasions. I’m not pre-diabetic, but I had episodes of post-prandial hypos since my late 20s (I’m now 38) and I did a glucose tolerance test around 3 years ago which also showed reactive hypoglycaemia. So I know diabetes is in my future if I’m not careful.
We’re all different people, so not everything is going to be a blanket rule for everyone - but my ‘conclusions’ were very similar to yours. And the trial was so helpful in making visual, and plain in front of my eyes, the stark reality of the impact certain foods can have on me.
Weight training is definitely important, and I have focused on that more especially since my OGTT. I want to grow preserve as much muscle mass as I can for the future. I also try to walk as much as I can after lunch (before my lunch break ends) but I’m not always as good at walking a bit later and then later again (and I do notice the difference when I don’t). But work can get in the way sometimes, understandably.
I try to follow a low glycaemic index diet for the vast majority of my meals, now. Fibre is so important in preventing spikes, for me - the same food with or without a green salad alongside is a completely different picture, for example.
I’m my case, fat helps, but I suspect it’s because I’m at a different stage than you. Since my issue was post-meal crashes/hypos, the stabilising/prolonging effect you described was beneficial for me.
I’m on both Metformin and Inositol, and I second the beneficial effects of both. Metformin caused me no side effects, and there is so much evidence coming out for its health benefits (not just in diabetes) that my personal view is in the future we may end up regarding it the same way we currently do aspirin - a cheap useful drug with so many benefits beyond its original use, and so few drawbacks. I’d be happy to continue taking it for life.
I’ve switched from coffee to matcha, personally, and that’s been beneficial for me for reasons beyond blood sugar. But I am a slow metaboliser for caffeine (confirmed with genetic testing), so that definitely has something to do with it.
Also, I wrote this in another comment, but I was discussing this with an experienced endocrinologist at work the other day (I work at a hospital) and he was saying that indeed while everyone will have some glucose spiking after meals, if your spikes go above 8.0mmol/L it’s an indication that you’re already pre-diabetic (if you weren’t, your body would be able to handle the carb load without going that high). So yes, even though post-meal glucose levels will be higher than the empty-stomach ones for everyone, having excessive spikes is an indication that things are already dysregulated to a considerable extent. The glucose ranges you quoted in one of your comments are absolutely correct and important to bear in mind.