Moment 124: 10 Sugar Hacks So You Can Eat Whatever You Want! Jessie Inchauspé
This episode features an expert discussing practical 'hacks' to flatten the glucose curve and improve overall health. Key strategies include eating foods in a specific order, prioritizing savory breakfasts, and understanding how different foods impact blood sugar levels.
Deep Dive Analysis
13 Topic Outline
Introduction to Glucose Spikes and Flattening the Curve
Hack 1: Eating Food in the Right Order
The Role of Fiber in Glucose Management
Impact of Eating Speed on Glucose Spikes
Hack 3: Why Calorie Counting is Misleading
Understanding How Calories Were Measured
The Importance of a Savory Breakfast
Whole Fruit vs. Processed Fruit (Juice)
Hack 7: Drinking Vinegar Before Meals
Hack 8: Moving After Eating (Post-Meal Movement)
Applying Glucose Hacks While Traveling
Jessie Inchauspé's Daily Eating Habits
Optimizing Breakfast for Sustained Energy
6 Key Concepts
Glucose Spike
A rapid increase in blood glucose levels, often triggered by consuming starches and sugars, which can lead to cravings, fatigue, inflammation, faster aging, and various health issues. Managing these spikes is crucial for overall well-being.
Fiber Shield
A protective, viscous mesh formed by fiber (found in vegetables) in the upper intestine when consumed first in a meal. This 'shield' slows down the absorption of glucose molecules into the bloodstream, thereby significantly reducing the glucose spike of the meal.
Calorie Measurement
The historical method of measuring calories involved burning food in a sealed box submerged in water and measuring the increase in water temperature. This approach is considered reductive because it only measures heat energy and provides no information about how food impacts the body's biochemistry, glucose levels, or overall health.
Whole Fruit
Fruit that is unprocessed and eaten in its natural state, retaining all its fiber. The fiber in whole fruit helps to slow down the absorption of its natural sugars, making it a better option for glucose management compared to denatured forms like juice, where fiber is removed.
Acetic Acid
A molecule found in vinegar that helps manage glucose levels by performing two main actions: it slows down the breakdown of starches into glucose, and it signals muscles to absorb glucose from the bloodstream as it arrives, effectively reducing glucose and insulin spikes.
Putting Clothing on Your Carbs
A strategy to reduce glucose spikes by adding protein, fat, or fiber to starches and sugars when you eat them. This combination slows down the digestion and absorption of glucose, mitigating the impact of the carbohydrate-rich food.
7 Questions Answered
By applying specific 'hacks' that leverage scientific principles, such as eating foods in a particular order, incorporating fiber, and making small adjustments to meal timing and composition, you can significantly reduce glucose spikes without giving up favorite foods.
Yes, eating vegetables first, followed by proteins and fats, and then starches and sugars, can reduce the glucose spike of a meal by up to 75% because the fiber from vegetables creates a protective barrier in the digestive tract.
Calorie counting is a reductive measure based on burning food for heat, which doesn't account for how different foods impact the body's glucose levels, hormones, cravings, or overall health, making it an unsustainable and often misleading metric.
A savory breakfast rich in protein (like eggs, fish, meat, or protein powder) and healthy fats (like avocado), with optional fiber from veggies, is recommended. Sweet items, especially processed ones, should be avoided as the centerpiece.
Fruit juice is not healthy for glucose levels because juicing removes all the protective fiber, delivering a concentrated dose of sugar to the body very quickly, similar to drinking soda. Whole fruit, however, retains its fiber, which helps mitigate the sugar's impact.
Vinegar contains acetic acid, which slows down the breakdown of starches into glucose and signals muscles to absorb glucose from the bloodstream, thereby reducing both glucose and insulin spikes by up to 30% and 20% respectively.
When muscles contract, they use glucose from the bloodstream for energy. Engaging in light physical activity, like a 10-minute walk or calf raises, after a meal helps divert glucose to the muscles instead of it accumulating in the bloodstream and causing a spike.
10 Actionable Insights
1. Eat Food in the Right Order
Consume vegetables first, followed by proteins and fats, and then starches and sugars last. This order can reduce the glucose spike of a meal by up to 75% because the fiber in vegetables creates a protective mesh in the intestine, slowing glucose absorption.
2. Stop Counting Calories
Shift focus from calorie counting to balancing glucose levels, as calories alone don’t reflect a food’s impact on health. Prioritizing glucose balance can significantly improve health, reduce cravings, and enhance energy without restrictive calorie tracking.
3. Prioritize a Savory Breakfast
Start your day with a savory breakfast rich in protein, fat, and fiber (like eggs, avocado, or veggies) instead of sweet foods. A sweet breakfast causes a large glucose spike that can destabilize your glucose levels for the entire day, leading to cravings and energy crashes.
4. Avoid Juiced or Blended Fruit
Consume whole fruit rather than fruit juice, smoothies, or dried fruit. Processing fruit removes its protective fiber, causing the concentrated sugar to be delivered rapidly to your bloodstream, which can lead to a significant glucose spike similar to consuming soda.
5. Drink Vinegar Before Meals
Have one tablespoon of vinegar diluted in a tall glass of water before a meal to reduce the glucose spike by up to 30% and the insulin spike by up to 20%. Acetic acid in vinegar slows down starch breakdown and encourages muscles to absorb glucose more efficiently.
6. Move After Eating
Engage your muscles for at least 10 minutes after a meal by walking, cleaning, or doing calf raises. Muscle contraction uses glucose from your bloodstream for energy, thereby reducing the post-meal glucose spike.
7. Add ‘Clothing’ to Carbs
When consuming starches or sugars, pair them with protein, fat, or fiber (e.g., chocolate cake with Greek yogurt). This strategy helps to slow down the absorption of glucose and reduce the overall impact of the sweet or starchy food.
8. Perform Calf Raises for Glucose
Utilize calf raises as a discreet and effective way to manage glucose levels, especially after a meal or when seated. The soleus muscle in the calf is particularly good at soaking up glucose from the bloodstream.
9. Reframe Sweet Foods as Dessert
If you enjoy sweet foods, consume them as dessert after lunch or dinner, rather than on an empty stomach in the morning. This approach helps prevent kicking off a day-long glucose roller coaster and better manages cravings.
10. Adjust Portion Size if Tired
If you experience an energy slump or tiredness after eating, consider reducing your portion size. Feeling fatigued after a meal can indicate that you’ve consumed too much food, impacting your energy levels.
5 Key Quotes
You can reduce the glucose spike of that meal by up to 75 percent without changing how much you're eating, what you're eating, just the order has a massive impact on your glucose.
Jessie Inchauspé
Your body doesn't care whether the sugar came from a piece of fruit or if it came from like cane sugar and is in a can of coca-cola. The molecules in the apple juice and in the can of coke are the same.
Jessie Inchauspé
If you're somebody who suffers from cravings in the afternoon or unsteady energy, I think this hack is a really powerful one to try out.
Jessie Inchauspé
The breakfast spike really dictates how you're going to be doing for the rest of the day.
Jessie Inchauspé
It's not about cutting anything out, it's about learning to place the foods and organize them in a way that keeps your glucose level steady so that you don't kick off the cravings rollercoaster where you feel so controlled by all the sugar and the food around you.
Jessie Inchauspé
4 Protocols
Meal Order for Flattening Glucose Spikes
Jessie Inchauspé- Eat veggies first.
- Eat proteins and fats second.
- Eat starches and sugars last.
Pre-Meal Vinegar Drink
Jessie Inchauspé- Add one tablespoon of vinegar to a tall glass of water.
- Drink this mixture before a meal.
Post-Meal Glucose Soaking Movement
Jessie Inchauspé- After a meal, engage your muscles for 10 minutes.
- Examples include going for a walk, cleaning your apartment, playing with your dog, or doing calf raises.
Savory Breakfast for Stable Glucose
Jessie Inchauspé- Include protein (e.g., eggs, fish, meat, protein powder) and fat (e.g., avocado) as the centerpiece.
- Add fiber (e.g., veggies) if desired.
- Limit or avoid sweet items, especially processed ones, as the main part of breakfast.