Episode #41

Dr. Anthony Gustin

The Link Between Blood Sugar Levels & Chronic Diseases + My Continuous Blood Glucose Monitoring Results

To prevent chronic disease, keep insulin as low as humanly possible. Click To Tweet

Did you know that the three biggest things that people die from — heart disease, neurodegenerative disease, and cancers — all have one root cause in common?

Insulin resistance is at the heart of these issues and so many other chronic health conditions, yet most people are completely unaware of its harmful effects.

With so much emphasis on macros, calories, sugars, carbs, and processed ingredients, blood sugar takes a back seat, but that’s a huge mistake.

As you’ll learn in this podcast episode, chronically high levels can be the difference between having inflammation, diabetes, and other debilitating diseases or not having any of these deadly issues at all.

Because this topic plays such a huge role in your overall health, including for longevity and weight loss, Alex Cunningham, our Head of Partnerships, and I sit down to discuss all things blood glucose.

Ketones push blood glucose down and stabilize them really well. Click To Tweet

We’ll dive into everything you need to know, what raises and lowers it and why it’s so important to track your own blood sugar levels.

I’ll even share my experience with a continuous blood glucose monitor and why I’ll wear one indefinitely.

Here’s a complete rundown of everything we’ll chat about in this episode:

  • What is a continuous blood glucose monitor?
  • Why would someone use this over a regular blood sugar monitor?
  • My results using a continuous blood glucose monitor
  • Why it’s more important to measure blood glucose levels over ketones
  • 3 reasons why measuring ketones is not as important as you think
  • Why there’s no specific sweet spot for the general population when it comes to ketones and what you should go by instead
  • How my ketone levels changed when I ate foods like sushi
  • Why it’s better to have a tight feedback loop and what this looks like
  • Is the ratio of ketones to glucose important?
  • Does keto mean your blood sugar goes to zero?
  • Where you should get your glucose from and why
  • What my blood glucose levels look like when I fast
  • Why blood sugar is a better indicator of health
  • The three biggest causes of death and what these have in common
  • What is insulin resistance?
  • How insulin resistance develops and how to prevent it
  • What happens when you keep your insulin levels low
  • The 6 biggest factors that affect insulin levels
  • What’s considered a normal insulin level?
  • How improving your insulin levels can improve your health, fat loss, and inflammatory levels
  • The number one goal when it comes to glucose levels
  • The top factors that lower blood sugar levels
  • What happens with your blood glucose when you fast? What about after taking ketones?
  • Why I chose to use a continuous blood glucose monitor
  • How a blood sugar monitor can help you pinpoint what’s kicking you out of ketosis (you may be surprised by what you uncover)
  • How to tell if a food is keto or healthy using a blood sugar monitor
  • Why we test blood sugar levels on all of our products, including our new Perfect Keto Almond Brownie Bar
  • Two questions to ask when monitoring blood sugar levels after eating
  • My shocking blood sugar results after testing 4 popular “low carb” bars — Bulletproof, Quest bar, Dang, and our Perfect Keto Bar
  • My blood glucose levels after taking exogenous ketones
  • What happened when I took HVMN Ketone Esters
  • The type of exercise that reduced my blood glucose by 15-20 points
  • How not moving all day affected my blood sugar baseline
  • What happened to my blood sugar when I ran on less sleep to hit the gym early
  • My number one tip for improving your blood sugar throughout the day and into the next
  • One thing you can do to lower your insulin levels quickly
  • The blood sugar difference between eating a large meal versus a small low carb bar
  • The one fruit that caused my blood glucose monitor to send me an alert
  • Why you can’t trust the nutrition facts and should test yourself to be safe
  • The exact testing schedule to use when trying to see if a food is good for your blood sugar levels
  • Why it’s important to use at least 3 data points for testing
  • Two red flags when it comes to measuring blood sugar levels after eating
  • And how a hot sauna affected my blood sugar levels

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