Continuous Glucose Monitoring
What is all the buzz about continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)?
Continuous glucose monitoring or CGM is making headlines and for good reason. This tiny little piece of technology is revolutionizing our approach to hormonal and metabolic wellness. It is an amazing tool to personalize your nutrition and patterns of eating to create optimal health. CGM, traditionally used in patients with diabetes, continuously tracks blood glucose levels using a small patch on the back of the arm which transmits real time data to an app to allow you (and your clinician) to see your daily and weekly patterns. You might be thinking, but I am not diabetic? I am here to tell you that this can be a great tool for almost anyone to see how you respond to different foods and meals as well as the impact of exercise, sleep and stress on blood glucose levels. It is a useful tool in the pursuit of health and longevity.
What to look for with CGM
When wearing a continuous glucose monitor there are a few variables that I look at for myself and with patients:
- Morning fasting glucose level
- Time in optimal glucose range (not too high, not too low)
- Post meal blood glucose spikes
- Average blood glucose level over time
And from there, we can look to see how it is affected by certain variables to truly personalize your health plan:
- Macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein, fiber)
- Activity and exercise
- Sleep
- Stress
- Meal timing
- Order of eating a meal (ie: non-starchy vegetable first, protein, then carbohydrate last)
If you’ve ever wondered about your body’s responses to different factors, such as particular foods and activities – we’d recommend exploring CGMs and Alison at Wild Rice Wellness can help! There are direct to consumer continuous glucose monitors like Levels ($250-400/mo) and Nutrisense ($299-$399/month) but as a patient of Wild Rice Wellness, Alison can send in a prescription to your local pharmacy to obtain a CGM at a fraction (~$80/month) of what the direct to consumer monitors cost. She can also look at your data and guide you on shifts to make or tips and tricks help improve your blood glucose levels and metabolic health.
We are here to serve as a resource and guide as you learn more about your metabolic health. Reach out to us for your personal consultation!