Why Should I Wear A Continuous Glucose Monitor? Why Does My Glucose Level Matter?

Why do we care about our glucose levels and insulin sensitivity?

When a person becomes insulin resistant, we call this prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, depending on the severity of the resistance. As the insulin resistance worsens, type 2 diabetes is associated with an increased risk for many conditions like heart attacks, strokes, retinal damage (loss of vision), recurrent infections, kidney disease (needing dialysis), and circulation abnormalities like foot ulcers. Insulin resistance is also associated with a higher risk of certain cancers, including colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, endometrial cancer, and breast cancer1. The good news? Prediabetes and diabetes can be controlled and reversed when we change what we eat.

The bottom line: Insulin resistance significantly increases your risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer. This is why knowing how your body responds to glucose is so important. Once we understand how our bodies react to carbohydrates, we can make the changes our bodies need to reduce our risk of developing these conditions.

What is insulin? How is it related to glucose?

Insulin is a hormone in our body that helps our cells absorb the sugar from our blood. It is released from the pancreas when we eat carbohydrates (sugar, fruits, breads, grains). When our diet consists of high levels of sugar and carbohydrates, our bodies release high levels of insulin throughout the day. If we continue to eat a high carbohydrate diet and have chronically high insulin levels, our cells may stop responding to this hormone, a condition that we call insulin resistance.

Note: Obesity, visceral fat, genetics, and a lack of exercise also play a role in our risk of developing insulin resistance.

How do I know what my insulin sensitivity is?

The best way to learn if you have insulin resistance is to get your blood tested for your fasting glucose, your hemoglobin A1c, and your fasting insulin levels. You can also have a test done that gives you a glucose drink and tests your blood sugar levels at baseline and at 1 hour, 2 hours, or 3 hours after drinking the glucose drink.

If you want to take the next step, you can also wear a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to learn specifically how different foods affect your glucose levels. This way, you can learn how your body reacts to different foods and you can make decisions about what foods to avoid to help reduce your risk of ever developing insulin resistance. If you are interested in our CGM program, email us at Info@Longevity.com today!