Continuous Glucose Monitors Without Diabetes: Pros & Cons

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The “Glucose Goddess”, biochemist Jessie Inchauspé, gives us the low-down:

Knowledge is power (but watch out)

A continuous glucose monitor (CGM) is a device that continually monitors glucose levels, without the need to stab one’s finger every few hours to test blood.

It was designed for diabetics, especially for those with Type 1 Diabetes, where around-the-clock monitoring is necessary for appropriate insulin dosing.

For non-diabetics, they can be a good way of learning what our body’s response to various foods and activities is like, the better to be able to tweak our habits to avoid undue glucose spikes (which are harmful for our pancreas, liver, heart, brain, kidneys, and more).

How it works: there’s a sensor that sits on the arm (or elsewhere, but the arm is a popular placement) with a little probe that goes under the skin. It’s applied using a device that inserts it automatically using a needle (you only need to press a button, you don’t need to guide the needle yourself); the needle then retracts, leaving the soft, flexible probe in place. Having been attached, that sensor can now stay in place for 2 weeks (usually; depends on brand, but for example FreeStyle Libre, the most popular brand, the sensors last 2 weeks), and yes, it’s fine to bathe/shower/etc with it. When you want an update from your CGM, you scan it with your phone (or you can buy a dedicated reader, but that is more expensive and unnecessary), and it uploads the data since your last scan.

Pros: it’s convenient and gives a lot of data, so even if you only use it for a short period of time (for example, a month) you can get a very good idea of what affects your blood sugar levels and how. Also, because of the constant nature of the monitoring, it helps avoid accidental sample bias of the kind that can occur with manual testing, by testing a little too soon or too late, and missing a spike/dip.

Cons: it can be expensive, depending on where you live and what options are available for you locally, so you might not want to do it long-term (since that would require buying two sensors per month). It’s also, for all its wealth of data, slightly less accurate than fingerprick testing—that’s because it takes an interstitial reading instead of directly from the blood. For this reason, if you test both ways, you may find a discrepancy of about 3mg/dL. Given that the healthy range is about 70–140mg/dL, a discrepancy of 3mg/dL is probably not going to be important, but it is a thing to mention can (and probably will) happen.

Patterns to bear in mind (with any kind of blood sugar monitoring):

  • Dawn phenomenon: a natural glucose rise upon waking.
  • Exercise-induced spikes (normal due to energy demands).
  • Fat in meals slowing glucose absorption.
  • Different foods can sometimes cause a double-wave after dinner (because glucose from different foods is absorbed differently, and/or different foods affect insulin response independent of glucose)
  • Steep, rapid spikes that are more harmful than gradual, sustained increases.
  • Vitamin C spikes: temporary chemical interference with the sensor, not actual glucose rises.
  • Nighttime glucose dips (often false readings caused by sleeping position).

For more on all of this, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

10 Ways To Balance Blood Sugars

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  • Five Supplements That Actually Work Vs Arthritis

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    This is Dr. Diana Girnita, a double board-certified physician (internal medicine & rheumatology) who, in addition to her MD, also has a PhD in immunology—bearing in mind that rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition.

    Her mission is to help people with any form of arthritis (rheumatoid or otherwise) and those with many non-arthritic autoimmune conditions (ranging from tendonitis to lupus) to live better.

    Today, we’ll be looking at her recommendations of 5 supplements that actually help alleviate arthritis:

    Collagen

    Collagen famously supports skin, nails, bones, and joint cartilage; Dr. Girnita advises that it’s particularly beneficial for osteoarthritis.

    Specifically, she recommends either collagen peptides or hydrolyzed collagen, as they are most absorbable. However, collagen can also be sourced from foods like bone broth, fish with skin and bones, and gelatin-based foods.

    If you’re vegetarian/vegan, then it becomes important to simply consume the ingredients for collagen, because like most animals, we can synthesize it ourselves provided we get the necessary nutrients. For more on that, see:

    We Are Such Stuff As Fish Are Made Of

    Glucosamine & chondroitin

    Technically two things, but almost always sold/taken together. Naturally found in joint cartilage, it can slow cartilage breakdown and reduce pain in osteoarthritis.

    Studies show pain relief, especially in moderate-to-severe cases; best taken long-term. Additionally, it’s a better option than NSAIDs for patients with heart or gastrointestinal issues.

    10almonds tip: something that’s tricker to find as a supplement than glucosamine and chondroitin, but you might want to check it out:

    Cucumber Extract Beats Glucosamine & Chondroitin… At 1/135th Of The Dose?!

    Omega-3 fatty acids

    Dr. Girnita recommends this one because unlike the above recommendations that mainly help reduce/reverse the joint damage itself, omega-3 reduces inflammation, pain, and stiffness, and can decrease or eliminate the need for NSAIDs in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis.

    She recommends 2-4g EPA/DHA daily; ideally taken with a meal for better absorption.

    She also recommends to look for mercury-free options—algae-derived are usually better than fish-derived, but check for certification either way! See also:

    What Omega-3 Fatty Acids Really Do For Us

    Boswellia serrata (frankincense)

    Popularly enjoyed as an incense but also available in supplement form, it contains boswellic acid, which reduces inflammation and cartilage damage.

    Dr. Girnita recommends 100 mg daily, but advises that it may interact with some antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and NSAIDs—so speak with your pharmacist/doctor if unsure.

    We also wrote about this one here:

    Science-Based Alternative Pain Relief

    Curcumin (turmeric)

    Well-known for its potent anti-inflammatory properties, it’s comparable to NSAIDs in pain relief for most common forms of arthritis.

    Dr. Girnita recommends 1–1.5g of curcumin daily, ideally combined with black pepper for better absorption:

    Why Curcumin (Turmeric) Is Worth Its Weight In Gold

    Lastly…

    Dr. Girnita advises to not blindly trust supplements, but rather, to test them for 2–3 months while keeping a journal of your symptoms. If it improves things for you, keep it up, if not, discontinue. Humans can be complicated and not everything will work exactly the same way for everyone!

    For more on dealing with chronic pain specifically, by the way, check out:

    Managing Chronic Pain (Realistically!)

    Take care!

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  • Our Top 5 Spices: How Much Is Enough For Benefits?

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    A spoonful of pepper makes the… Hang on, no, that’s not right…

    We know that spices are the spice of life, and many have great health-giving qualities. But…

    1. How much is the right amount?
    2. What’s the minimum to get health benefits?
    3. What’s the maximum to avoid toxicity?

    That last one always seems like a scary question, but please bear in mind: everything is toxic at a certain dose. Oxygen, water, you-name-it.

    On the other hand, many things have a toxicity so low that one could not physically consume it sufficiently faster than the body eliminates it, to get a toxic build-up.

    Consider, for example, the €50 banknote that was nearly withdrawn from circulation because one of the dyes used in it was found to be toxic. However, the note remained in circulation after scientists patiently explained that a person would have to eat many thousands of them to get a lethal dose.

    So, let’s address these questions in reverse order:

    What’s the maximum to avoid toxicity?

    In the case of the spices we’ll look at today, the human body generally* has high tolerance for them if eaten at levels that we find comfortable eating.

    *IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have (or may have) a medical condition that may be triggered by spices, go easier on them (or if appropriate, abstain completely) after you learn about that.

    Check with your own physician if unsure, because not only are we not doctors, we’re specifically not your doctors, and cannot offer personalized health advice.

    We’re going to be talking in averages and generalizations here. Caveat consumator.

    For most people, unless you are taking the spice in such quantities that you are folding space and seeing the future, or eating them as the main constituents of your meal rather than an embellishment, you should be fine. Please don’t enter a chilli-eating contest and sue us.

    What is the minimum to get health benefits and how much should we eat?

    The science of physiology generally involves continuous rather than discrete data, so there’s not so much a hard threshold, as a point at which the benefits become significant. The usefulness of most nutrients we consume, be they macro- or micro-, will tend to have a bell curve.

    In other words, a tiny amount won’t do much, the right amount will have a good result, and usefulness will tail off after that point. To that end, we’re going to look at the “sweet spot” of peaking on the graph.

    Also note: the clinical dose is the dose of the compound, not the amount of the food that one will need to eat to get that dose. For example, food x containing compound y will not usually contain that compound at 100% rate and nothing else. We mention this so that you’re not surprised when we say “the recommended dose is 5mg of compound, so take a teaspoon of this spice”, for example.

    Further note: we only have so much room here, so we’re going to list only the top benefits, and not delve into the science of them. You can see the related main features for more details, though!

    The “big 5” health-giving spices, with their relevant active compound:

    • Black pepper (piperine)
    • Hot pepper* (capsaicin)
    • Garlic (allicin)
    • Ginger (gingerol)
    • Turmeric (curcumin**)

    *Cayenne pepper is very high in capsaicin; chilli peppers are also great

    **not the same thing as cumin, which is a completely different plant. Cumin does have some health benefits of its own, but not in the same league as the spices above, and there’s only so much we have room to cover today.

    Black pepper

    • Benefits: antioxidant, anti-cancer, boosts bioavailability of other nutrients, aids digestion
    • Dosage: 5–20mg for benefits
    • Suggestion: ½ teaspoon of black pepper is sufficient for benefits. However, this writer’s kitchen dictum in this case is “if you can’t see the black pepper in/on the food, add more”—but that’s more about taste!
    • Related main feature: Black Pepper’s Anti-Cancer Arsenal (And More)

    Hot Pepper

    Garlic

    • Benefits: heart health, blood sugar balancing, anti-cancer
    • Dosage: 4–8µg for benefits
    • Suggestion: 1–2 cloves daily is generally good. However, cooking reduces allicin content (and so does oxidation after cutting/crushing), so you may want to adjust accordingly if doing those things.
    • Related main feature: The Many Health Benefits Of Garlic

    Ginger

    • Benefits: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-nausea
    • Dosage: 3–4g for benefits
    • Suggestion: 1 teaspoon grated raw ginger or ½ a teaspoon powdered ginger, can be used in baking or as part of the seasoning for a stir-fry
    • Related main feature: Ginger Does A Lot More Than You Think

    Turmeric

    Closing notes

    The above five spices are very healthful for most people. Personal physiology can and will vary, so if in doubt, a) check with your doctor b) start at lowest doses and establish your tolerance (or lack thereof).

    Enjoy, and stay well!

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  • Why We Sleep – by Dr Matthew Walker

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    • We all know sleep is important.
    • We all know that without it, we’ll suffer rapid cognitive decline.
    • We all know approximately what we’re supposed to do to get good sleep.

    So what does this book bring to the table? Mostly, deep understanding (written from the perspective of a career in sleep science) presented in such a way as to be applicable, by you, in your life. Stop sabotaging yourself before you even get out of your bed in the morning!

    Hustle culture champions early mornings and late nights, and either or both of those might be difficult to avoid. But to make what you’re doing sustainable, you’re going to have to make some informed decisions about looking after your #1 asset—you!

    Dr. Walker writes in a clear and accessible fashion, without skimping on the hard science, and always with practical application in mind. All in all, we can’t recommend this one enough.

    Pick Up Your Bedtime Reading From Amazon

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  • Staying Strong: Tips To Prevent Muscle Loss With Age
  • Staying Strong: Tips To Prevent Muscle Loss With Age

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Dr. Andrea Furlan, specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation with 30 years of experience, has advice:

    Fighting sarcopenia

    Sarcopenia is so common as to be considered “natural”, but “natural” does not mean “obligatory” and it certainly doesn’t mean “healthy”. As for how to fight it?

    You may be thinking “let us guess, is it eat protein and do resistance exercises? And yes it is, but that’s only part of it…

    Firstly, she recommends remembering why you are doing this, or because understanding is key to compliance (i.e. your perfect diet and exercise program will mean nothing if you don’t actually do it, and you won’t do it enough to make it a habit, let alone keep it up, if the reasons aren’t clear in your mind).

    Sarcopenia comes with an increased risk of falls, reduced physical capacity in general, resultant disability, social isolation, and depression. Of course, this is not a one-to-one equation; you will not necessarily become depressed the moment your muscle mass is below a certain percentage, but statistically speaking, the road to ruin is laid out clearly.

    Secondly, she recommends being on the lookout for it. If you check your body composition regularly with a gadget, that’s great and laudable; if you don’t, then a) consider getting one (here’s an example product on Amazon), and b) watch out for decreased muscle strength, fatigue, reduced stamina, noticeable body shape changes with muscle loss and (likely) fat gain.

    Thirdly, she recommends more than just regular resistance training and good protein intake. Yes, she recommends those things too, but also getting enough water (can’t rebuild the body without it), avoiding a sedentary lifestyle (sitting leads to atrophy of many supporting and stabilizing muscles, you know, the kind of muscles that don’t look flashy but stop you falling down), and getting good sleep—vital for all kinds of body maintenance, and muscle maintenance is no exception (there’s a reason bodybuilders sleep 9–12 hours daily when in a gaining phase; you don’t need to do that, but don’t skimp on your 7–9 hours, yes, really, even you, yes, at any age).

    Lastly, she recommends continuing to learn about the topic, as otherwise it’s easy to go off-track.

    For more information on all of the above and more, enjoy:

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    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Take care!

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  • HIIT, But Make It HIRT

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    This May HIRT A Bit

    This is Ingrid Clay. She’s a professional athlete, personal trainer, chef*, and science writer.

    *A vegan bodybuilding chef, no less:

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    For those who prefer reading…

    This writer does too 😉

    We’ve previously reviewed her book, “Science of HIIT”, and we’re going to be talking a bit about High Intensity Interval Training today.

    If you’d like to know a little more about the woman herself first, then…

    Centr | Meet Ingrid: Your HIIT HIRT trainer

    Yes, that is Centr, as in Chris Hemsworth’s personal training app, where Clay is the resident HIIT & HIRT expert & trainer.

    What’s this HIIT & HIRT?

    HIIT” is High Intensity Interval Training, which we’ve written about before:

    How To Do HIIT (Without Wrecking Your Body)

    Basically, it’s a super-efficient way of working out, that gets better results than working out for longer with other methods, especially because of how it raises the metabolism for a couple of hours after training (this effect is called EPOC, by the way—Excessive Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption), and is a good thing.

    You can read more about the science of it, in the above-linked main feature.

    And HIRT?

    HIRT” is High Intensity Resistance Training, and is resistance training performed with HIIT principles.

    See also: Chris Hemsworth’s Trainer Ingrid Clay Explains HIRT

    An example is doing 10 reps of a resistance exercise (e.g., a dumbbell press) every minute on odd-numbered minutes, and 10 reps of a different resistance exercise (e.g. dumbbell squats) on even-numbered minutes.

    If dumbbells aren’t your thing, it could be resistance bands, or even the floor (press-ups are a resistance exercise!)

    For HIRT that’s not also a cardio exercise, gaps between different exercises can be quite minimal, as we only need to confuse the muscles, not the heart. So, effectively, it becomes a specially focused kind of circuit training!

    If doing planks though, you might want to check out Clay’s troubleshooting guide:

    Expert trainer Ingrid Clay identifies the mistakes many people make when doing the plank, and how to correct them.

    Want more from Clay?

    Here she gives a full 20-minute full-body HIIT HIRT workout:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Enjoy!

    Don’t Forget…

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  • How To Recover Quickly From A Stomach Bug

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    How To Recover Quickly From A Stomach Bug

    Is it norovirus, or did you just eat something questionable? We’re not doctors, let alone your doctors, and certainly will not try to diagnose from afar. And as ever, if unsure and/or symptoms don’t go away or do get worse, seek professional medical advice.

    That out of the way, we can give some very good general-purpose tips for this one…

    Help your immune system to help you

    So far as you can, you want a happy healthy immune system. For the most part, we’d recommend the following things:

    Beyond Supplements: The Real Immune-Boosters!

    …but you probably don’t want to be exercising with a stomach bug, so perhaps sit that one out. Exercise is the preventative; what you need right now is rest.

    Hydrate—but watch out

    Hydration is critical for recovery especially if you have diarrhea, but drinking too much water too quickly will just make things worse. Great options for getting good hydration more slowly are:

    • Peppermint tea
      • (peppermint also has digestion-settling properties)
    • Ginger tea
    • Broths
      • These will also help replenish your sodium and other nutrients, gently. Chicken soup for your stomach, and all that. A great plant-based option is sweetcorn soup.
      • By broths, we mean clear(ish) water-based soups. This is definitely not the time for creamier soups.

    ❝Milk and dairy products should be avoided for 24 to 48 hours as they can make diarrhea worse.

    Initial dietary choices when refeeding should begin with soups and broth.❞

    Source: American College of Gastroenterology

    Other things to avoid

    Caffeine stimulates the digestion in a way that can make things worse.

    Fat is more difficult to digest, and should also be avoided until feeling better.

    To medicate or not to medicate?

    Loperamide (also known by the brand name Imodium) is generally safe when used as directed.

    Click here to see its uses, dosage, side effects, and contraindications

    Antibiotics may be necessary for certain microbial infections, but should not be anyone’s first-choice treatment unless advised otherwise by your doctor/pharmacist.

    Note that if your stomach bug is not something that requires antibiotics, then taking antibiotics can actually make it worse as the antibiotics wipe out your gut bacteria that were busy helping fight whatever’s going wrong in there:

    A gentler helper

    If you want to give your “good bacteria” a hand while giving pathogens a harder time of it, then a much safer home remedy is a little (seriously, do not over do it; we are talking 1–2 tablespoons, or around 20ml) apple cider vinegar, taken diluted in a glass of water.

    ❝Several studies indicate apple cider vinegar (ACV)’s usefulness in lowering postprandial glycemic response, specifically by slowing of gastric motility❞

    (Slowing gastric motility is usually exactly what you want in the case of a stomach bug, and apple cider vinegar)

    Source: Effectiveness of Nutritional Ingredients on Upper Gastrointestinal Conditions and Symptoms: A Narrative Review

    See also:

    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

    Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!

    Learn to Age Gracefully

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