Brief Summary
This video features Jesse Inchauspé, also known as the Glucose Goddess, discussing the critical role of glucose in our health. She explains how glucose spikes affect the body, leading to various health issues such as fatigue, accelerated aging, hormonal imbalances, and increased risk of chronic diseases. The conversation covers practical hacks to manage glucose levels, surprising food-related facts, and the impact of glucose on mental health and overall well-being.
- Glucose spikes lead to chronic fatigue, accelerated aging, and insulin resistance.
- Simple hacks like starting your day with a savory breakfast, consuming vinegar before meals, eating vegetables first, and moving after eating can significantly reduce glucose spikes.
- The type and order of food consumption matter more than just calorie counting.
Intro
Jesse Inchauspé, the Glucose Goddess, is introduced as a biochemist and best-selling author focused on nutrition and glucose management. She provides science-backed tips to improve health, noting that 80% of the population experiences daily glucose spikes, leading to mental health issues, acne, accelerated aging, infertility, and PCOS. The food landscape is toxic, with most people consuming excessive sugar and starches, which are made of glucose molecules.
Why Is Glucose So Important for Your Health?
Glucose has always been crucial for health, but advancements in technology like glucose monitors now allow better understanding of its impact. Many people have unhealthy glucose levels, with one billion people worldwide having type two diabetes or pre-diabetes, and this number is increasing. Even those without health issues often experience daily glucose spikes, leading to various health problems.
What Glucose Spikes Reveal About Your Body's Health
When you eat starches and sugars, they break down into glucose molecules, causing a spike in blood sugar. While occasional spikes aren't harmful, frequent and large spikes can lead to chronic fatigue, accelerated aging through glycation, and increased insulin release. These processes underlie the negative consequences of glucose spikes.
How Sugar Impacts Your Cells
Mitochondria in cells turn glucose into energy. Too much glucose overwhelms them, causing them to dysfunction, leading to chronic fatigue. While sugary foods can give a temporary energy rush by releasing dopamine, they damage mitochondria. Stressed mitochondria release free radicals, increasing inflammation in the body.
How Glucose Spikes Accelerate Aging and What You Can Do About It
Glycation, a process similar to cooking, occurs when glucose spikes increase the browning or cooking of the body from the inside, accelerating aging. This is visible on the skin through wrinkles and damages internal organs. In response to glucose spikes, the pancreas releases insulin to store excess glucose in the liver, muscles, and fat cells.
The Link Between Muscle Mass & Sugar Usage
Having more muscle mass helps in processing sugary products because muscles can absorb more glucose for energy. The best time to eat cookies is after a workout when muscles are hungry for glucose. However, many factors influence glucose response, including hydration levels, stress, microbiome, genetics, and sleep quality.
These 'Healthy' Foods Are Causing Massive Glucose Spikes!
Foods like honey and grapes can cause surprising glucose spikes. Modern fruits are bred to be extra sweet and juicy, making them essentially pockets of sugar. While a whole piece of fruit is acceptable due to its fiber content, the real problem arises when fruit is denatured into juice, removing the protective fiber.
Surprising Non-Sweet Foods That Cause Glucose Spikes
Starches like bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes are made of millions of glucose molecules and break down into individual glucose molecules, raising blood sugar even though they don't taste sweet. In contrast, fruits contain sucrose, which is half glucose and half fructose. Fructose tastes sweet but doesn't raise blood sugar levels as much.
Is There Such a Thing as 'Good' Sugar?
There is no such thing as "good" sugar. The sugar in a fruit smoothie and the sugar in a chocolate cake are the same; the body doesn't differentiate. All sugars, including honey, agave, and maple syrup, are the same molecules. It's better to have sugar as dessert, making even a fruit smoothie a dessert rather than a healthy option.
The Best and Worst Sweeteners for Your Health
Good sweeteners include Stevia, monk fruit, and allulose, while aspartame and sucralose have been linked to health issues. Although sweeteners are not ideal, diet soda with aspartame is still better than regular soda with real sugar because sweeteners don't raise blood sugar levels.
How Sugar Accelerates Aging
High glucose levels and insulin levels are correlated with heart disease, dementia, and depression. Skincare products often target glycation from the outside with antioxidants, but reducing glucose levels through diet is a more effective way to reduce glycation from the inside out.
The Link Between Glucose, Hormones, and Fertility
Insulin resistance is linked to infertility, and 60% of PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) cases involve insulin resistance. High insulin levels in women can cause the ovaries to produce more testosterone, leading to acne, balding, and irregular periods. Addressing glucose spikes can alleviate PCOS symptoms.
Can PCOS Be Reversed Through Diet?
PCOS is a cluster of symptoms, and some cases are linked to high insulin levels. Reversing PCOS symptoms has been observed through dietary changes that stabilize glucose and insulin levels.
Why You Should Always Start Your Day with a Savory Breakfast
A savory breakfast is based around protein (eggs, fish, meat, tofu, nuts, dairy, protein powder, or dinner leftovers) and healthy fats (olive oil, butter, avocado), with a bit of starch if desired. It contains nothing sweet, avoiding cereals, muffins, orange juice, and granola. A savory breakfast keeps glucose levels steady, preventing brain fog, fatigue, and cravings throughout the day.
Why We Crave Sugar
Glucose spikes lead to insulin release and subsequent glucose drops, increasing hunger and cravings. Low glucose levels increase activity in the brain's craving center. This can create a cycle of sugar consumption throughout the day.
Is Intermittent Fasting Really Good for You?
Intermittent fasting is more effective for men than women, as it can disrupt hormones in females. Fasting is a stressor on the body and should be dosed appropriately, especially for those with stressful jobs or lifestyles. When breaking a fast, the first meal should be savory to avoid a large glucose spike.
The Truth About Calorie Restriction
Calorie restriction can lead to weight loss, but the calorie count doesn't tell you about the food's impact on glucose levels, inflammation, and aging. Two people can eat the same number of calories, but one can have steady glucose levels while the other experiences spikes, leading to different health outcomes. Focusing on glucose levels can naturally rebalance hunger hormones and reduce cravings.
The Food You're Giving Your Children Might Be Hurting Them
It is important to help children eat well to set up their bodies in a healthy way. Parents should avoid giving kids sugary foods like orange juice and cereals, as these can lead to behavior issues, sugar cravings, and sugar lows. Setting a good example by eating healthy foods is crucial.
Study Reveals How Sugar Makes You More Irritable
A study showed that married couples with more variable glucose levels, particularly low glucose events after spikes, reported more irritation with their partners. This is linked to lower tyrosine levels, which balance mood. Food impacts how you show up with others and your overall personality.
Hack 2: One Tablespoon of Vinegar a Day
Drinking one tablespoon of vinegar in a big glass of water before the biggest meal of the day can cut the glucose spike by up to 30%. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which interacts with digestive enzymes. Any kind of kitchen vinegar works, diluted in water to protect teeth enamel.
Hack 3: Vegetables First
Starting a meal with vegetables coats the intestine with fiber, creating a protective barrier that slows down glucose absorption. This reduces glucose spikes, keeps you fuller for longer, and reduces cravings.
Hack 4: Exercising After Eating
Using your muscles for 10 minutes after eating helps soak up glucose. Activities like cleaning, walking, dancing, or calf raises can be effective. Muscles are effective glucose dumps, and contraction helps them absorb glucose from the bloodstream for energy.
I Tried 4 Glucose Hacks for 4 Weeks
A four-week experiment involving savory breakfasts, vinegar, veggie starters, and moving after eating showed that 90% of participants reduced cravings and had more energy. There were also significant impacts on sleep, hormones, skin, mood, and diabetes. About 40% of people who wanted to lose weight did so without calorie restriction.
How to Use Vinegar to Manage Glucose: A Step-by-Step Guide
Vinegar contains acetic acid, which interacts with digestive enzymes and cuts the glucose spike of a meal by up to 30%. It has benefits for visceral fat, cholesterol, glucose, and insulin levels. Use straight vinegar without added sugar or apple juice.
The Link Between Visceral Fat and Glucose Spikes
Visceral fat, the fat between organs, is particularly harmful. Vinegar can help reduce it. Visceral fat is underneath the muscle layer and is characterized by a big, hard belly that cannot be pinched.
The Scary Link Between Sugar and Alzheimer’s Disease
Elevated glucose levels in middle age are a risk factor for Alzheimer's. The brain of someone with Alzheimer's shows similarities to the body of someone with diabetes, including inflammation, glycation, and insulin resistance. Some scientists call Alzheimer's type 3 diabetes.
Are We Creating Medicine to Fix Unhealthy Food Habits?
GLP-1 is a substance released in the digestive system that tells the brain you've eaten enough and helps the body deal with glucose spikes. Pharmaceutical companies have created drugs that provide massive doses of GLP-1 to decrease glucose levels and suppress appetite. However, these drugs can cause muscle loss, and most people regain the weight when they stop taking them.
The Hidden Agenda: Why Food Companies Add More Sugar to Their Products
Food companies often prioritize profits by adding sugar to their products because it increases sales. A leading soda brand found that 42 grams of sugar resulted in the highest sales. This is driven by commercial incentives rather than a conspiracy.
The Link Between Glucose Spikes and Menopause
After menopause, the glucose response to the same food increases. Reducing sugar intake and glucose spikes can provide relief from symptoms like insomnia and hot flashes.
How Menopause Affects Glucose Spikes and What You Can Do
People stuck in extreme craving cycles can benefit from managing glucose levels. Before eating something sweet, having vinegar in water or something else before it can help to get the dopamine from the sugar with less of a spike and less activation of the craving center in the brain.
Does Coffee Cause Glucose Spikes?
Coffee can cause glucose spikes in some people due to the stress response. If you're tired, drinking coffee after breakfast can cut the glucose spike by up to 50%.
The Last Guest Question
A black cab driver in London told Jesse that whatever she was doing was important and to keep going. This message felt like it was from the universe and helped her during a difficult time when she was considering quitting.
