Why do glucose levels matter for your health?

Glucose levels (sometimes referred to as blood sugar levels) are a hot topic, with more and more people using them as a metric for health and wellness. But why do glucose levels matter so much? 

It’s normal for our glucose levels to fluctuate throughout the day in response to things like the foods we eat, movement, sleep, and stress. However, regular and prolonged glucose spikes – where the amount of glucose circulating in your body rises sharply – are associated with poor health outcomes.¹ 

What’s more, there’s evidence to show that managing your glucose spikes and keeping them in a healthy range can have a positive impact on your metabolism.²  

In this article, we look at the potential benefits that may come with managing your glucose levels, along with steps you can take to help keep your levels steady. 

What are your glucose levels? 

Glucose levels refer to the amount of glucose (a type of sugar) in your bloodstream. 

Glucose is an energy source for your body, especially for the brain and muscles. Glucose mainly comes from the breakdown of carbohydrate-rich foods in the diet, such as bread, rice, and fruit, and your body regulates it using insulin, a hormone made by your pancreas. 

Studies show that in individuals without diabetes, glucose levels fall between 70-140 mg/dL 96% of the time, or about 23 hours per day.³ Glucose levels will differ from person to person and can be affected not only by our diet but other lifestyle factors such as stress, exercise, sleep, medications, and even the time of day. 

 One way of tracking your glucose levels is with a device called a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Lingo is a CGM designed to measure the levels of glucose in your interstitial fluid, a thin layer of fluid that surrounds your body’s cells. Glucose measured by a CGM and blood glucose are closely related, although not identical. A CGM glucose reading may lag behind a finger prick blood glucose reading by about 5 minutes.  

Learn more about what Americans know about glucose and their health.  

Benefits of managing your glucose levels  

Research suggests a range of benefits when it comes to glucose monitoring, from maintaining a healthy weight to improving metabolic health, and even improving the appearance of your skin.¹ There are also studies pointing out that unmanaged glucose levels tend to do the opposite.⁴  

Tracking glucose levels and taking actions to improve different areas of your life such as nutrition, exercise, and other habits, is a proactive step you can take towards optimizing metabolic health.^1,5  

Understanding and regulating glucose levels can have a positive impact on our overall well-being, influencing hunger, energy levels, mood, sleep patterns, and more.¹  

How do frequent glucose spikes affect your health and well-being? 

You have likely heard the term "glucose spike," but what does it actually mean for you and your health and well-being? 
 
A glucose spike is a sharp rise in the amount of glucose in your blood, typically followed by a comparable decline, also known as a crash.  

When your body digests and breaks down the food you eat, glucose circulates via the bloodstream to get into cells where it’s used for energy. When the amount of glucose circulating in your body surpasses what’s needed for energy, it becomes too concentrated in your blood, resulting in a glucose spike.  

Frequent glucose spikes (and crashes, where your glucose dips back below the level it was before a spike) may impact both our short- and long-term health, impacting things like:¹  

• Hunger 
• Cravings 
• Energy levels 
• Mood 
• Sleep 

Over time, chronic glucose spikes can increase the risk of developing insulin resistance and associated diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.^1,6  

While glucose spikes are a normal thing to occur in healthy individuals, there are still plenty of benefits to managing your glucose, and maintaining steady glucose levels can help to do the following:  

• Improve your metabolic health¹ 
• Increase energy⁷ 
• Support better sleep⁸ 
• Reduce hunger and cravings⁹ 
• Boost focus¹⁰ 

How to keep your glucose steady 

So how can we better manage spikes and dips? There are many factors to consider:  

Diet 

The food we eat can be a major factor in how our glucose levels rise and fall, but the change in glucose varies among different people.¹¹  

Implementing the Lingo Fundamentals, such as prioritizing protein and fueling with healthy fats, can help reduce sharp spikes. These macronutrients do not spike glucose on their own, and when you consume them alongside carbohydrate-rich foods, they can help slow down the release of sugars, helping to lessen the rise in glucose that carbs cause. 

Eating more fiber can also support steady glucose levels. This type of carb can help you feel fuller after eating, leading to less hunger and fewer cravings.¹²  

Sleep  

Sleep is another important factor to consider. Steady glucose means better sleep, and better sleep can in turn lead to steadier glucose.¹³ 

Stress management 

Stress can also influence our glucose response. Increased cortisol (the stress hormone) and adrenaline can raise your glucose levels, which may result in glucose spikes and subsequent crashes that lead to tiredness, low energy, and altered mood.¹⁴ 

Taking steps to manage your stress levels can result in steadier glucose. Identifying and limiting exposure to things that cause stress can help, as can taking part in stress-relieving activities, such as meditation, breathing exercise, or relaxing past-times.^15,16,17 

Exercise 

Research suggests that regular exercise can help with regulating your glucose. Low- to moderate-intensity activity, such as walking, can help to reduce an immediate glucose spike after a meal. Exercise also improves insulin sensitivity and glucose regulation over time, which can lead to more energy, more focus, and fewer cravings.¹⁸ And exercise can help to reduce stress, too.¹⁹  

Note: It’s natural for high-intensity exercise to cause a short-term glucose spike, as your body needs more fuel to power working muscles. There won’t be a surge of insulin alongside this kind of spike.¹⁸ 

 Tracking your glucose 

Knowing your glucose data in real time and making dietary and other lifestyle changes may help you move toward steady glucose while improving your metabolism.⁵ 

Using Lingo can offer an insight into your own unique glucose responses throughout the day. While CGMs have traditionally played a role in diabetes management, they may also offer benefits to people without diabetes, including:  

• Supporting weight management: Using a CGM can help people to adopt and adhere to dietary patterns that limit glucose spikes, which in turn could help with weight management.⁵ 
• Differentiating cravings from true hunger: Real-time glucose data could make it easier for you to understand the difference between feelings of hunger and passing cravings.²⁰ 
• Improving your mood: Understanding your individual glucose responses to food could make following a low-glycemic diet easier, which may help improve your mood.⁷ 

Learn more about the benefits of wearing a CGM if you don’t have diabetes.   

A final note from Lingo 

Your glucose levels offer you a window into your metabolic health. While it’s normal for them to go up and down over the course of the day, there’s evidence to suggest that keeping your glucose levels within a healthy range can have a positive impact on your health and well-being.  

Lingo is designed to help you see the impact of your eating and exercise habits on your glucose levels. Tracking your glucose with a CGM can support you in building healthy habits and making changes that contribute toward your health goals.    

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