New device to measure blood sugar

[Ianc2]

Peta Bee, writing in the Health section of TIMES on Tuesday , March 2nd, in an article entitled 'Would you use this gadget (it's £100 a month !) to change your diet' has identified a new device that can be implanted partly under your skin to carry out continuous blood glucose monitoring. Originally developed to track the blood sugar of diabetics, it is now being pitched as a performance enhancer for anyone trying to improve their fitness.

Chronically elevated blood sugar is unhealthy ( diabetes, heart disease, etc) yet blood sugar levels vary wildly during the day, causing huge swings in energy levels that cause slumps that limit performance, and set off snack attacks. Consistently High levels of blood sugar the can undermine aerobic exercise, with treadmill tests showing that young people with the worst blood glucose control also had the lowest levels of endurance.

The device she looked she tried out was the Abbott Libre Sense Glucose Sport Biosensor connects to an app called Supersapiens. The app is free but the sensors that stick in your arm are £112-138 for two.

[Ianp66]

I've been using a Libre 2 since Jan this year, to see the effects of different types of food have on sugar levels, and impact of various types of exercise, quite eye opening, and reveals what foods Spike sugars and some that surprisingly don't.

[Ianc2 in reply to Ianp66]

Sounds interesting?

[Chappychap]

I've used the FreeStyle Libre, not because I have Diabetes but because I was once diagnosed as borderline insulin resistant (weight loss and exercise seems to have fixed that) and I wanted to better understand the impact that different foods have on my blood sugar levels.

I used it for 2 x two weekly periods, varying my diet over that time. I'd heard that people can exhibit very different reactions to various foods as we all process foods differently, and that's certainly what I found. For example certain carbs caused a clear spike (cake, biscuits, crisps and to a slightly lesser extent white pasta), but other carbs had almost no effect (white and wholemeal bread, boiled or mashed potatoes, wholemeal pasta). And at the extreme end of the spectrum was beer, sweet drinks, fruit drinks, and fruit yogurts, these consistently produced really marked spikes.

I know other people have reported similar findings, suggesting all carbs aren't created equal and you need to find the specific foods that trigger a response in you as an individual. Another thing I've discovered is how effective exercise can be in reducing glucose spikes.

All interesting stuff and well worth the money. I follow a Mediterranean diet and try and keep my daily carb intake in the 100-130g range. But following this exercise I'll now allow myself a slice or two of home baked sourdough or some potatoes on four or five days per week.

[Ianc2 in reply to Chappychap]

Interesting information. I am trying to keep my arteries unclogged. Did you try out porridge made with milk?

[Chappychap in reply to Ianc2]

I didn't Ian, but only because I don't eat anything before 1pm each day, so I'm not really in the market for "breakfast" type foods.

[WardijaWardija]

Interesting to me, as a long time chronic, Insulin Dependent diabetic. My blood glucose levels fluctuate widely and I'm the first to admit my overall compliance with taking, and more so, testing and recording my glucose levels (6 times daily 24/7) alongside taking all my other medications, is not all it could be . . . So I may look into this further, thank you.

[Ianc2 in reply to WardijaWardija]

Have a look at Dr Mosely's books, the dash 800 diet. You can put Diabetes 2 into remission , but it requires ferocious determination.

[WardijaWardija]

Thanks for the information. Diagnosed 30 years ago with T2 diabetes, but over time have, for all intents and purposes morphed into T1 as haven't produced my own Insulin for many years, so it'll never go into remission but it would definitely benefit me to have better overall control.