Glucose Revolution: The Life-Changing Power of Balancing Your Blood Sugar

by Jessie Inchauspé

With flatter glucose curves, we reduce the amount of insulin—a hormone released in response to glucose—in our body, and this is beneficial, as too much insulin is one of the main drivers of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and PCOS. With flatter glucose curves, we also naturally flatten our fructose curves—fructose is found alongside glucose in sugary foods—which is also beneficial, as too much fructose increases the likelihood of obesity, heart disease, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

If our glucose levels are out of balance, dials flash and alarms go off. We put on weight, our hormones get out of whack, we feel tired, we crave sugar, our skin breaks out, our hearts suffer. We inch closer and closer to type 2 diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) states that a baseline concentration (also known as your fasting level, that is, your glucose level first thing in the morning before eating) between 60 and 100 mg/dL is “normal”; that between 100 and 126 mg/dL indicates prediabetes; and anything above 126 mg/dL indicates diabetes. But what the ADA describes as “normal” may not actually be optimal. Early studies showed that the thriving range for fasting glucose may be between 72 and 85 mg/dL. That’s because there is more likelihood of developing health problems from 85 mg/dL and up.

Even if our fasting level is “optimal,” we may still experience glucose spikes on a daily basis. Spikes are rapid increases and drops in glucose concentration after we eat, and they are harmful.

The ADA states that our glucose levels shouldn’t increase above 140 mg/dL after eating. But again, that’s “normal,” not optimal. Studies in nondiabetics give more precise information: we should strive to avoid increasing our glucose levels by more than 30 mg/dL after eating. So in this book I will define a glucose spike as an increase in glucose in our body of more than 30 mg/dL after eating. The goal is to avoid spikes, whatever your fasting level is, because it’s the variability caused by spikes that is most problematic. It’s years of repeated daily spikes that slowly increase our fasting glucose level, a pattern we discover only once that level is classified as prediabetic. By then, the damage has already started.

According to the latest scientific theory, the Allostatic Load Model, when our mitochondria are drowning in unnecessary glucose, tiny molecules with large consequences are released: free radicals. (And some glucose is converted to fat;

Too much fat can also increase oxidative stress. Over decades cells become ravaged. Because they’re stuffed, crowded, and overwhelmed, our mitochondria can’t convert glucose to energy efficiently. The cells starve, which leads to organ dysfunction. We feel this as humans: even though we’re fueling up by eating, we suffer from lassitude; it’s hard to get up in the

He discovered that browning happens when a glucose molecule bumps into another type of molecule. That causes a reaction. The second molecule is then said to be “glycated.” When a molecule is glycated, it’s damaged.

The more glucose we deliver to our body, the more often glycation happens. Once a molecule is glycated, it’s damaged forever—which is why you can’t untoast a piece of toast. The long-term consequences of glycated molecules range from wrinkles and cataracts to heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Since browning is aging and aging is browning, slowing down the browning reaction in your body leads to a longer life. Fructose molecules glycate things 10 times as fast as glucose, generating that much more damage.

The hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test (well known among diabetics) measures how many red blood cell proteins have been glycated by glucose over the past two to three months. The higher your HbA1c level, the more often the Maillard reaction is happening inside your body, the more glucose is circulating, and the faster you are aging.

The combination of too many free radicals, oxidative stress, and glycation leads to a generalized state of inflammation in the body.

Once insulin has stored all the glucose it can in our liver and muscles, any glucose beyond that is turned into fat and stored in our fat reserves. And that’s one of the ways we put on weight.

If there is insulin present, our body is prevented from burning fat: insulin makes the route to our fat cells a one-way street: things can go in, but nothing can come out. We’re not able to burn any existing reserves until our insulin levels start coming back down about two hours after the spike. But if our glucose levels, and therefore our insulin levels, are steady, we shed pounds. In a 2021 study of 5,600 people, Canadian scientists showed that weight loss is always preceded by insulin decrease.

It turns out that big glucose spikes can impair memory and cognitive function. This effect is worst first thing in the morning, after fasting throughout the night.

That’s why science is finding that even if our fasting glucose is normal, each additional glucose spike increases our risk of dying of a heart attack.

What is the right order? It’s fiber first, protein and fat second, starches and sugars last.

fiber slows down the breakdown and absorption of any glucose that lands in the sink after it; the result is that fiber flattens our glucose curves.

Any starch or sugar that we eat after fiber will have a reduced effect on our body. We’ll get the same pleasure from eating it but with fewer consequences.

Foods containing fat also slow down gastric emptying, so eating them before rather than after carbs also helps flatten our glucose curves. The takeaway? Eating carbs after everything else is the best move.

The right order to eat foods in: veggies first, protein and fat second, starch last.

So unless you’re a wood-eating termite (in which case, I’m impressed that you can read!), you get most of your fiber from beans, vegetables, and fruit.

fiber is also good for our glucose levels for several reasons, notably because it creates a viscous mesh in our intestine. The mesh slows down and reduces the absorption of molecules from food across the intestinal lining. What does this mean for our glucose curves? First, that we absorb fewer calories (we’ll talk about calories in the next hack). Second, with fiber in our system, any absorption of glucose or fructose molecules is lessened.

What qualifies as a green starter? Any vegetable qualifies, from roasted asparagus to coleslaw to grilled zucchini and grated carrots. We’re talking artichokes, arugula, broccoli, brussels sprouts, eggplant, lettuce, pea shoots, and tomatoes, and also pulses, beans, and viscous foods such as natto

Incidentally, you can eat them either raw or cooked. But skip juiced or mashed preparations, because the fiber in them is either missing (in the case of a juice) or blitzed to oblivion (in the case of a mash).

Buy a bag of spinach at the supermarket, toss 3 cups of it in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of vinegar (any kind you like), and salt and pepper, and top with a handful of crumbled feta cheese and toasted nuts. (It’s okay, and good, to mix some protein and fats into your green starter.) You can also add pesto, grated parmesan cheese, and some toasted seeds,

It’s always best to eat whole food instead of supplements, but if it’s easier on some occasions, a fiber supplement at the beginning of a meal can help.

They were asked to replace the calories in their diet that came from fructose with calories from glucose (they replaced fructose-containing foods such as doughnuts with foods containing glucose but no fructose such as bagels). The number of calories they consumed was kept constant. What happened? Their health improved: their blood pressure improved, and their triglycerides-to-HDL ratio (a key marker of heart disease, as we learned in part 2) improved. They started reversing the progression of their fatty liver and their type 2 diabetes. And this profound change in their health happened in just nine days.

This hack is so powerful that if you go savory for breakfast, you’ll be able to eat sweet later in the day with few side effects—and I’ll show you how in the next hacks.

An ideal breakfast for steady glucose levels contains a good amount of protein, fiber, fat, and optional starch and fruit (ideally, eaten last). If you’re buying breakfast at a coffee shop, get an avocado toast, an egg muffin, or a ham and cheese sandwich, not a chocolate croissant or toast spread with jam.

Make sure your breakfast contains protein.

Protein can be found in Greek yogurt, tofu, meat, cold cuts, fish, cheese, cream cheese, protein powder, nuts, nut butter, seeds, and, yes, eggs (scrambled, fried, poached, or soft-boiled).

Add fat. Scramble your eggs in butter or olive oil, add slices of avocado, or add five almonds, chia seeds, or flaxseeds to your Greek yogurt. By the way, skip fat-free yogurt—it won’t keep you full, and I’ll explain why later. Switch to 5% regular or Greek yogurt.

It can be challenging to get fiber in the morning because it means eating veggies for breakfast. I don’t blame you if you aren’t into that. But if you can, try. I love mixing spinach into my scrambled eggs or tucking it underneath a sliced avocado on toast. Literally any vegetable, from spinach to mushrooms to tomatoes to zucchini to artichoke, sauerkraut, lentils, and lettuce will do.

THE 5-MINUTE SAVORY BREAKFAST (you can mix and match any of these) No cooking involved A bagel with cream cheese, topped with a few lettuce leaves and slices of turkey A can of tuna, a few pecans and olives, a drizzle of olive oil An apple with walnuts and slices of cheddar Full-fat yogurt with sliced fruit such as a peach, a drizzle of tahini, and salt Greek yogurt swirled with 2 tablespoons of nut butter and a handful of berries Half an avocado with three tablespoons of hummus, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt Homemade granola that is nut-centric or cereal designed specifically with extra fiber or protein (see the Cheat Sheets starting on page 205 to learn how to decipher packaging) Slices of ham on crackers Slices of smoked salmon, avocado, and tomato Toast with almond butter Toast with mashed avocado Tomato and mozzarella with a drizzle of olive oil My go-to: leftovers from last night’s dinner! (the fastest option of them all!) Cooking involved A tortilla filled with black beans and chopped avocado A full English breakfast (eggs, sausage, bacon, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast) Hard-boiled eggs with hot sauce and avocado Pan-fried halloumi cheese, tomatoes, salad Poached eggs with a side of sautéed greens Quinoa porridge topped with a fried egg Sausage and broiled tomatoes Scrambled eggs with crumbled goat cheese Toast topped with a fried egg Warm lentils topped with a fried egg

Start your smoothie with protein powder, then add a combination of linseed or flaxseed oil, coconut oil, avocado, seeds, nuts, and a cup of spinach. Finally, add some sugar for taste: ideally berries, which add a sweet taste but are significantly higher in fiber than other fruits. My go-to smoothie recipe is 2 scoops of protein powder, 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil, ¼ avocado, 1 tablespoon crunchy almond butter, ¼ banana, 1 cup frozen berries, and some unsweetened almond milk.

Beware of sweetened coffee drinks—and know that cappuccinos are better for your glucose levels than mochas, which contain chocolate and sugar. If you like to have a sweetened coffee drink, try mixing the coffee with full-fat milk or cream (fat is not to be feared) and sprinkling cocoa powder on top instead. Nondairy almond or other nut milks work, too, but oat milk tends to be the biggest spiker, because it contains more carbs than the other milks, as it’s made from grains, not nuts. If you add sugar to your coffee, make sure you eat something glucose-steady beforehand—even just a slice of cheese.

Sweetened coffee drinks can drive a big spike. Opt for cappuccinos, Americanos, macchiatos, and unsweetened lattes over coffees with flavors, syrups—and sugar.

Choose whole fruits over dried fruit.

Have sliced apple in your oatmeal instead of table sugar, berries in your yogurt instead of honey. Other ingenious additions to either oatmeal or yogurt include cinnamon, cacao powder, cacao nibs, shredded unsweetened coconut, or unsweetened nut butter (I know it sounds strange, but nut butter tastes sweet and makes for a dessert-worthy combo).

A drink consisting of a tablespoon of vinegar in a tall glass of water, drunk a few minutes before eating something sweet, flattens the ensuing glucose and insulin spikes.

Common varieties of vinegar include rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and apple cider vinegar. Among all the vinegars, though, one is most popular for this hack: apple cider vinegar (ACV). The reason is that most people find that it tastes better than the other vinegars when diluted in that tall glass of water. But all vinegars work identically on our glucose, so pick the one you please. (Note that lemon juice does not have the same effect because it contains citric acid, not acetic acid.)

by adding vinegar before meals for three months, the subjects lost two to four pounds and reduced their visceral fat, waist and hip measurements, and triglyceride levels.

as little as 1 tablespoon a day significantly decreases glucose levels.

Grab a tall glass of water (some people find that hot water is more soothing), and pour 1 tablespoon of vinegar into it. If you don’t like the taste, start with a teaspoon or even less, and build up to it. Grab a straw, down the drink either less than 20 minutes before, during the course of, or less than 20 minutes after eating the glucose-spiking food.

Here’s an even easier way to use this hack: now that you’re adding a green starter to all your meals, you can add some vinegar to your dressing.

A cup of hot cinnamon tea and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

Now you know the amazing combo for snacking on something sweet without incurring a big glucose spike in your body: vinegar before, exercise after.

THE 30-SECOND NO-GLUCOSE-SPIKE SAVORY SNACK Apple slices smeared with nut butter Apple slices with a hunk of cheese Bell pepper slices dipped in a spoonful of guacamole Celery smeared with nut butter A cup of 5% Greek yogurt topped with a handful of pecans A cup of 5% Greek yogurt with nut butter swirled into it A handful of baby carrots and a spoonful of hummus A handful of macadamia nuts and a square of 90% dark chocolate A handful of pork rinds A hard-boiled egg with a dash of hot sauce A hunk of cheese Lightly salted coconut slivers Seeded crackers with a slice of cheese A slice of ham A soft-boiled egg with a dash of salt and pepper A spoonful of nut butter

Select items whose ingredients get the closest to 1 gram of Dietary Fiber for each 5 grams of Total Carbohydrate.

You can always buy a food that could cause a spike, and then, when you eat it, combine it with fiber, protein, and fat—like Oreos with Greek yogurt and nuts.