Tuesday Tip: Blood glucose/ Gut microbiome diets 📉
There are a lot of companies at the moment that track your blood glucose, blood fat and gut micro biome – are they really the answer to all our health and weight loss goals?
Healthy individuals without diabetes shouldn’t be worried about their glucose levels since glucose spikes are a totally normal physiological response.
But even if you decide to ignore that statement and use a glucose monitor anyway a recent study found glucose monitors can vary quite wildly in their response to the same meal eaten at different times. So much so that the individual variability in post-meal blood sugar response to eating the same meal had as much variability as eating an entirely different meal. I don’t think people should overhaul their entire diet based on potentially faulty readings.
Even if they were accurate does it translate to more weight loss or better health (which they equate to a ‘better’ glucose response) when following the advice? A 2022 study found no difference in weight loss over 6 months between a control group on a low-fat diet or a personalised diet based on glucose response to foods. A 2023 study found that the personalised diet didn’t lead to greater reductions in blood sugar variability or HbA1c levels compared to a standardised diet.
But what about gut microbiome?
In truth we still know very little about what impact the gut microbiome has on overall health, despite how confidently some people on the internet talk about it. A recent study suggested most diseases are not in fact linked to an altered gut microbiome. Also, the claims that an imbalance in the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio of the gut microbiota in humans is a hallmark of obesity hasn’t actually been reproduced in human studies. So it’s difficult to associate the gut microbiome with health status and obesity.
In addition a recent study found an increased risk of disordered eating from the use of these glucose monitors in healthy, non diabetic people.
A personal observation – of the clients I know who’ve tried these products – their supposedly personalised diets were all identical which is an interesting coincidence. Remember these companies want your money and are cherry picking studies to support them. If you’re worried about your insulin sensitivity, your first priority should be losing body fat and doing regular physical activity as these will have a far bigger impact on improving your overall health than anything else. As for the gut microbiome, just do what most people already know they should be doing–eat a varied diet of with plenty of whole foods, fruit and veg.
Save your pennies until the research is clearer!
Happy Tuesday 🤗xx
Every Step Fitness 