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At Glucose Goddess, our mission is to make cutting edge science accessible to all of you. We are scientists, not doctors, and we read on a continual basis the newest scientific discoveries done by amazing research teams across the world, and we summarize them into easy tips that you can apply to your life if you want to. They are all listed below.

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Thousands of doctors, dietitians, practitioners, nurses, coaches, and more, use our content in their practice, to make sure their patients and clients get the latest science. If that is you, feel absolutely free to use any content that we share, it’s free and public.

Why we should all learn to balance our glucose levels

Because reducing sugar intake is a global priority:

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  • The World Health Organization has clearly emphasized the importance of reducing sugar intake. In its 2015 guide, "Guideline: Sugars Intake for Adults and Children," the WHO recommends limiting free sugars to less than 10% of daily total energy intake, with a stricter goal of less than 5% for additional health benefits. The WHO highlights sugar reduction as essential for preventing obesity and dental diseases globally.

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  • The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released a report titled "Diet, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases," which emphasizes reducing sugar consumption to combat the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The FAO points out that excessive sugar intake is a global health issue requiring increased attention.

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The Glucose Goddess Method provides simple tips to 1) reduce sugar intake, 2) lessen the impact of sugar when consumed, 3) increase vegetable consumption, and 4) encourage physical activity. These guidelines are based on the impact of carbohydrates and sugars on blood glucose levels. Indeed, the intake of carbohydrates and sugar leads to a post-meal increase in blood glucose. Reducing blood sugar spikes equates to lowering the amount of sugar and carbohydrates consumed.

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As such, balancing glucose levels is important for everyone:

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If you have type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, prediabetes, or another type of diabetes, like 1 billion people in the world, balancing your glucose levels is key to being able to live a long healthy life, and to increase your chances of putting prediabetes or type 2 diabetes into remission. 




If you don't have type 2 diabetes, learning about your glucose levels and how to reduce your glucose spikes will help you avoid developing insulin resistance, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Indeed, high glucose levels within the healthy range make you much more likely to get prediabetes or diabetes as you age, as fasting glucose levels increase with age. This pattern is also seen in children's fasting glucose levels. (Nguyen, Quoc Manh, et al., 2010). As we see it, ​telling someone without diabetes that they should not learn to balance their glucose levels is like telling a person with healthy teeth that they shouldn't worry about brushing and flossing, because they don't have cavities yet.



If you don't have type 2 diabetes, beyond preventing type 2 diabetes, science shows that balancing your glucose levels can help: cravings, constant hunger, fatigue, brain fog, hormonal and fertility issues, skin conditions, wrinkles, poor sleep, menopause symptoms, mental health symptoms, immune system. Avoiding spikes also reduces inflammation and slows down glycation (ageing). In people without diabetes, each glucose spike increases heart disease risk. In the long term, steadying your glucose levels also reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease, fatty liver disease, and cancer. You will find all the scientific references below.

If you have type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, prediabetes, or another type of diabetes, like 1 billion people in the world, balancing your glucose levels is key to being able to live a long healthy life, and to increase your chances of putting prediabetes or type 2 diabetes into remission. 




If you don't have type 2 diabetes, learning about your glucose levels and how to reduce your glucose spikes will help you avoid developing insulin resistance, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Indeed, high glucose levels within the healthy range make you much more likely to get prediabetes or diabetes as you age, as fasting glucose levels increase with age. This pattern is also seen in children's fasting glucose levels. (Nguyen, Quoc Manh, et al., 2010). As we see it, ​telling someone without diabetes that they should not learn to balance their glucose levels is like telling a person with healthy teeth that they shouldn't worry about brushing and flossing, because they don't have cavities yet.



If you don't have type 2 diabetes, beyond preventing type 2 diabetes, science shows that balancing your glucose levels can help: cravings, constant hunger, fatigue, brain fog, hormonal and fertility issues, skin conditions, wrinkles, poor sleep, menopause symptoms, mental health symptoms, immune system. Avoiding spikes also reduces inflammation and slows down glycation (ageing). In people without diabetes, each glucose spike increases heart disease risk. In the long term, steadying your glucose levels also reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease, fatty liver disease, and cancer. You will find all the scientific references below.

Evidence for the importance of lower fasting glucose levels in people without diabetes

It's common to think that as long as your fasting glucose is within the "healthy" range, you have nothing to do. In fact, studies show us that even within the "healthy" fasting glucose levels range (100mg/dL per the ADA), a lower number (<85-90mg/dL) is associated with better health outcomes. This is an argument for glucose management in healthy individuals.

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  • In this study following 17,000 healthy participants for 11 years, the risk of death increased with average glucose levels, even below the non diabetic range. Pfister, R., et al. "No evidence of an increased mortality risk associated with low levels of glycated haemoglobin in a non-diabetic UK population." Diabetologia 54 (2011): 2025-2032, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00125-011-2162-0 

  • In 1 million healthy Korean adults, the risks of cardiac problems were lowest at fasting serum glucose levels of ∼90 mg/dL and increased sharply above these levels in both men and women. Park, Chanshin, et al. "Fasting glucose level and the risk of incident atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases." Diabetes care 36.7 (2013): 1988-1993, https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/36/7/1988/33101/Fasting-Glucose-Level-and-the-Risk-of-Incident 

  • In 2000 people without diabetes, men in the highest glucose quartile (fasting blood glucose > 85 mg/dl) had a significantly higher mortality rate from cardiovascular diseases compared with those in the three lowest quartiles. Bjørnholt, JØRGEN V., et al. "Fasting blood glucose: an underestimated risk factor for cardiovascular death. Results from a 22-year follow-up of healthy nondiabetic men." Diabetes care 22.1 (1999): 45-49, https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/22/1/45/19692/Fasting-blood-glucose-an-underestimated-risk

  • This study shows that higher "normal" fasting glucose is associated with brain atrophy in key areas of the brain, the hippocampus and amygdala, which are important for memory, emotions, and healthy aging. Nicolas Cherbuin et al., “Higher normal fasting plasma glucose is associated with hippocampal atrophy: The PATH Study.” Neurology 79, no. 10 (2012): 1019-26. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22946113/

  • A 2019 study looked at the degree of variation in people’s blood glucose levels and found that the people with the highest glucose variability (i.e. the most glucose spikes) had a 2.67x greater risk of dying than those with few glucose spikes. Echouffo-Tcheugui, Justin B et al., “Visit-to-Visit Glycemic Variability and Risks of Cardiovascular Events and All-Cause Mortality: The ALLHAT Study.” Diabetes care 42, no. 3 (2019): 486-493. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30659073/

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What the graphs you see are 

Let’s take a look at the glucose graphs you see throughout Glucose Goddess content, like this one:

graph on the effects of apple cider vinegar on glucose spikes.

These graphs are here to illustrate scientific papers and make the discoveries done by research teams across the world visual. For instance, the graph above is illustrating this scientific paper.

 

Here is our process: if, for example, we come across a study that shows on a large scale that walking after eating reduces the glucose spike of a meal, we create a glucose graph, testing this principle on our own body, to illustrate the paper. It’s just a way to communicate the scientific findings. No conclusions are ever drawn from a n=1 experiment, and no conclusions are drawn from anyone's personal data. That would be unscientific.

 

On instagram, you can scroll through the panels on a post to see the scientific paper that the glucose graph is illustrating. 

Why spikes are worse for the body than a higher but steady glucose level

Avoiding spikes is important for all of us, to feel better today and prevent disease tomorrow.

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  • Joana Araújo et al., "Prevalence of optimal metabolic health in American adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009–2016," Metabolic syndrome and related disorders 17, no. 1 (2019): 46-52, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30484738/.

 

 

  • Benjamin Bikman, Why We Get Sick: The Hidden Epidemic at the Root of Most Chronic Disease and How to Fight It (New York: BenBella, 2020).

 

  • Robert Lustig, Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine (New York: Harper Wave, 2021).


It’s the variability caused by glucose spikes that is problematic.

 

 

 

 

 

What is the optimal fasting glucose level?

Per the American Diabetes Association, a fasting glucose level of < 100 mg/dL is considered normal. But normal may not be optimal. Studies show that <85 mg/dL may be optimal, and that avoiding spikes is important.

 

 

  • Jørgen Bjørnholt et al., "Fasting blood glucose: an underestimated risk factor for cardiovascular death. Results from a 22-year follow-up of healthy nondiabetic men," Diabetes care 22, no. 1 (1999): 45-49, https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/22/1/45.

 

 

 

What happens during a glucose spike?

1. When we spike, our mitochondria become overwhelmed and start producing chemicals called free radicals. Free radicals harm our cells, mutate our DNA, lead to oxidative stress and inflammation. Sweet spikes do this even more than starchy spikes. Inflammation is the root cause of most diseases. Three out of five people will die of an inflammation-based disease.

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2. When we spike, our body ages. Each glucose spike leads to glycation, which is the process of aging of our body. Glycation leads to many age-related issues, from cataracts to Alzheimer’s. When we slow down glycation, we live a longer, healthier life.

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3. When we spike, insulin gets released, and excess glucose gets stored in our liver, muscles, and fat cells. This is one of the ways that we gain fat on our body. When the spike comes from a sweet food (as opposed to a starchy one), it also contains fructose. Excess fructose has its own detrimental impact on our body.

 

  • Lubert Stryer, "Fatty acid metabolism,” In: Biochemistry (Fourth ed.) (New York: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1995), pp. 603–628.

 

 

 

 

  • Stryer L (1995). Biochemistry (Fourth ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. pp. 773–74.

The role of insulin in body fat. 

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The benefits of flattening our glucose curves

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