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Jessie Inchauspé: “I’ll explain why glucose spikes are bad and how to avoid them.”

Blood glucose reports help stabilise sugar levels. They have two main objectives: monitoring the patient’s sugar and checking to see if they have developed a form of diabetes or prediabetes.

Sugars and carbohydrates are not enemies of the body and health. We need to know them better and learn to consume them so they don’t harm us. Everything is contained in the glucose curve and its peaks, as explained by the “glucose goddess” Jessie Inchauspé. Here’s what you need to know.

It’s a warm August afternoon.

In London, it is still full summer; therefore, it is the perfect season for ice cream. «Exactly what I allowed myself before coming to the interview», Jessie Inchauspé, biochemist and expert on the effects of nutrition on health, better known as @glucosegoddess on Instagram, where she has more than one million followers, tells me smiling.

«Chocolate and yoghurt, very good – he continues – But also writes that I then reached the hotel on foot, for a twenty-minute walk, to flatten the glucose curve». One of his tricks for reducing glucose spikes is “so banal that one doesn’t think about it, but so effective… So one can enjoy the pleasure of food but without repercussions on one’s health.”

Let’s start from the beginning.

After graduating with a degree in Mathematics from King’s College London and a Master of Science in biochemistry from Georgetown University, Inchauspé moved to Silicon Valley, where she currently works for a start-up specialising in genetic analysis and health monitoring. Since 2018, she has been studying the effects of glucose on the body, becoming one of the leading experts on how this molecule works.

But perhaps her CV alone is insufficient to explain why this scientist with platinum blonde hair, a bright smile and a pleasant manner truly became the “goddess of glucose”, followed and listened to by both the scientific and generalist communities.

The change started on that day.

Due to an unconscious gesture, I was risking losing my life. I dived off a cliff, and instead of “piercing” the water with my feet, I landed on my butt. This caused a devastating impact on my spine. I arrived at the hospital, and it was immediately clear that an operation was necessary, the risks of which also included death. I swore that if I woke up, I would fill every day with gratitude and do something useful for others.”

Jessie today is more alive than ever and has made her knowledge and discoveries available to everyone – first on social media, today also with the book The Glucose Revolution, published by Vallardi – to help people have a relaxed and vital with food: no longer a castrating relationship – “no to this, weigh that, count the calories of that, I can’t do this…” – but joyful and satisfying like his post-lunch ice cream, which he began to work off by walking.

We live in a consumerist society

Where even food is marketing, the time has come to realise that questionable choices in terms of nutrition influence our psychophysical well-being and prevent us from waking up every morning feeling in our best shape,” he tells me. It may not seem serious, but wouldn’t you like to do it if possible?

I’m here to tell you that there is a way.

One way is to keep glucose levels under control. Glucose is the body’s main energy source; we cannot do without sugars. But, and this is the revolution, its concentration can vary enormously during the day, and when sudden increases occur – the so-called glucose peaks – everything is affected: mood, sleep, weight, skin health and immune system, fertility and risk of heart disease”, he explains.

But be careful:

Glucose is not everything or the only culprit of our ailments. «Other factors influence health: sleep, stress, physical activity, emotional well-being, the quality of medical care and others. In addition to glucose, we should be careful about fats, fructose and insulin. The latter two, however, are more difficult to monitor continuously.

Levels are the only ones we can control comfortably sitting in an armchair; the good news is that when we flatten the glucose curve, we act on the insulin and fructose curves. This is because fructose exists only in glucose, and the pancreas releases insulin depending on blood sugar levels.”

But let’s move on to the million-dollar question.

Why are spikes bad? «Ingesting glucose, therefore sugars, is not the problem. The problem is repeatedly ingesting too much, even when our body doesn’t need it. In the book, I give the example of a steam train fed more coal than is needed to fuel the boilers. The risk is that he stops and doesn’t continue the race.”

The same happens to our mitochondria: according to a recent theory, the allostatic load model, when the mitochondria are flooded with excess glucose, small molecules are released that have important consequences: free radicals. Furthermore, some glucose is transformed into fat when free radicals appear after a peak.

They trigger a dangerous chain reaction.

These molecules are harmful because they damage everything they touch. They modify our genetic code (DNA) at random points, creating mutations that activate harmful genes and can lead to tumour onset. They also open holes in the cell membrane, compromising its functioning. Under normal circumstances, we can handle a moderate amount of free radicals in cells; however, the repetition of the peaks causes them to become too many to be controlled. “

When we fail to neutralise free radicals, the body is subjected to oxidative stress. This makes us tired and sick prematurely and, according to a process called glycation, causes us to age prematurely. The combination of too many free radicals, oxidative stress, and glycation leads to a general state of inflammation in the body.

Protective Measures

Under normal circumstances, it is a protective measure to defend oneself from intruders, but when it is chronic, it is harmful because it turns against the body. From the outside, we see redness and swelling; inside, the tissues and organs are slowly damaged.”

Alcohol, smoking, leaky gut syndrome and substances released from body fat also contribute to increasing inflammation. Chronic inflammation is the source of most chronic diseases, which can lead to stroke, respiratory, heart and liver problems, obesity and diabetes.

So, how do you avoid these spikes?

Some tricks are easily practicable in everyday life, tested by Jessie personally. «The post-ice cream walk allowed me to reduce glucose peaks by 30%, for example», he explains, smiling. “But starting each meal with vegetables can help reduce them by 75%.”

Continue reading the article, and you will know more. “Guilt and food cannot be in the same sentence: eating is joy, but you need to know how to do it correctly, to feel better and live lightly, inside and out.”

How do you lower your blood sugar and feel better,

Following the advice of a biochemist? 

In her Instagram account, Glucose Goddess, and a new book coming out, biochemist Jessie Inchauspé offers simple tips for regulating blood sugar levels. These tips have benefits for health, energy, and skin.

Jessie Inchauspé became an expert on sugar spikes following a serious accident at 19, in which she broke her back. “I was very scared. I had a major operation, and I suffered from the after-effects for years. So I went looking for a way to reconnect with my body, to take care of it, to feel better and find happiness again.”

An accident that would change her life

With this goal in mind, Jessie studied biochemistry and then worked in genetics in San Francisco. “There, I experimented for the first time, out of curiosity, with a sensor to record sugar. Suddenly, I could see and understand what was happening in my body. I researched sugar and sugar day and night. I changed the way I eat and finally felt good.

My mental health, desires, skin, weight, energy, mood… everything was better.” Jessie soon wanted to share her findings with the general public. “But I wanted to make science attractive. I took the data from my sensor, created software to turn it into beautiful graphs and showed it to my friends. They liked it; they started applying my principles and felt better. So I created my Instagram account – which now has over 580,000 followers, to ensure everyone can benefit.”

Why do we need to stabilise it?

“Because 80% of non-diabetics have sugar spikes every day without knowing it. These spikes trigger 3 physiological processes: insulin secretion, inflammation and accelerated ageing. These 3 processes are the basis of cravings, constant hunger, tiredness, ageing, wrinkles, acne, sleep disorders, polycystic ovary syndrome and, of course, the silent development of diabetes.

The good news is that regulating your blood sugar level is very simple and life-changing. Let’s discuss an emergency if you consider that only 12% of Americans currently have normal levels.

Glycemic peaks favour the appearance of wrinkles.

“Every time there is a spike in glucose, glycation is activated in the body. Glycation stiffens proteins, especially collagen, thus accelerating the loss of skin tone and the appearance of wrinkles. At the same time, each spike in glucose creates an inflammatory process, resulting in redness, acne and skin blemishes.”

Spikes cause tiredness.

Glucose is pumped into cells by insulin, and cells may receive too much of it. “Too much glucose causes our cells’ mitochondria (their powerhouse) to shut down. Energy production stops, and we feel exhausted. A diet that causes our levels to fluctuate will cause bouts of fatigue that could be avoided with a diet that stabilises the curve over the day.

     “We can slow down, heal, and reverse the processes that arise from glucose spikes. There is always time to improve,” says Jessie Inchaupsé 

10 rules of Jessie Inchaupsé’s for stabilising and lowering:

• Change the order of foods. During the meal, it is better to eat vegetables first (due to their fibre, which slows down the passage of glucose into the blood), then proteins, fats, starches and sugars last. Changing the absorption order can reduce the glucose spike by 50%-70%. This has a huge impact.
• Always fruit at the end of the meal. Although some recommend eating it before or at the beginning of the meal (to avoid fermentation), from a glycemic point of view, it is much better to take it afterwards.
• Include vegetables at the start of each meal—raw or cooked vegetables, even before breakfast. The more you eat, the lower the glycemic peak after the meal. Think about this rule at a restaurant before consuming bread. Bread, yes, but first the vegetables…

Stop counting calories.

• Health and weight loss depend more on molecules and the order in which they are absorbed rather than calories consumed.
• Lower the curve at breakfast because this determines the desire for sugar throughout the day. If you can’t eat only salty foods, always start with vegetables. Afterwards, the dessert should come only from fresh fruit, for example, a smoothie (with the amount of fruit you eat in a meal), but with added proteins (pea powder, spirulina, chlorella, seeds, nuts) and good fats (like avocado or coconut oil), as explained in this post.

Don’t discriminate between sugars; they are all the same.

• Agave syrup, honey, brown sugar, coconut sugar… Don’t try to ease your conscience; it’s useless. From the point of view of the glycemic peak, these are the same molecules as fructose and glucose…
• Choose a dessert rather than a sweet snack because there’s nothing worse than eating something sweet on an empty stomach.
• Start each meal with apple cider vinegar diluted in water or a salad with a vinaigrette. Vinegar is a magic remedy: It temporarily deactivates the enzyme that breaks down sugar and starch into glucose. It also tells our muscles to use more glucose, reducing the amount of sugar in circulation.
• Walk for 10 minutes after each meal. This is because the glucose then goes to the muscles for fuel.
• If you want to snack, eat salty foods. Even if you feel tired.
• “Coat” your carbs. Always remember to accompany sweets with fibre and proteins. The goal is never to eat “naked” carbohydrates.

 Fit and in good spirits.

“As blood sugar levels stabilise, our hormones also regulate insulin, which manages weight gain; ghrelin, which regulates hunger; testosterone, which regulates libido and fertility. You feel great; no cravings. The quality of your skin improves. It becomes much easier to lose weight, and the symptoms of PCOS disappear.”

 Detox from sugar

The best way to reduce sugar cravings is, once again, to regulate your blood sugar curve throughout the day. “Sugar is highly addictive, and it is very common to crave it multiple times a day. Sugar cravings are generally linked to a drop in blood sugar levels after a peak. The peaks and dips create a roller coaster of cravings!

 You can greatly reduce your levels by following the 10 rules mentioned above. 

All this is explained in Jessie Inchauspé’s new book, Make Your Glucose Revolution.

“My Instagram account is the trailer; the book is the film. In Make Your Glucose Revolution, you will find my personal story, the stories of many people who are improving thanks to my advice, a dive into the heart of science, and all the diseases and glucose-related syndromes. And then the answers to the questions I am regularly asked on Instagram, but also ideas for recipes, tools, new advice and much more”.