Health Hacking: How to Have Your Cake and Eat It
Jessie Inchauspé’s book, Glucose Revolution, shows us how to make small changes for a big impact.
I’ve never been one for novelty diets or weight loss fads. My general approach to food has always been driven by enjoyment and balance.
However, there have been two instances in my life where I have been persuaded to make pretty drastic changes to my diet (three if you count the time I got COVID and everything tasted like petrol for a year).
The first time was after watching the sensationalist documentaries Cowspiracy and What the Health. Even despite the controversy around the documentaries and all the ‘debunking’, I had seen enough.
After some further thought and research into the morals and health benefits of avoiding animal products, I went from omnivorous cheese addict to committed vegan overnight.
During this vegan era, my skin improved, I lost weight and had more energy.
But the best thing?
I fell in love with food.
I had so much fun discovering new recipes, trying vegan alternatives and turning plants into delicious meals, puddings and snacks that I became even less inclined to give up edible satisfaction in the name of any diet.
That being said, I have recently made a revolutionary change, for a second time.
Is This The Miracle Cure To Everything?
A diet is not something you choose to go on. You always have a diet. The question is whether your diet is helping you live a full and healthy life or not.
What decides our diet are often factors we have little to no control over — our parents, culture, the media and what’s on the supermarket shelves.
Go into any supermarket and you will be surrounded by sugar. It’s not easy to resist as Jessie Inchauspé explains in her book; Glucose Revolution.
The data-obsessed bio-chemist is on a mission to combat our sugar addictions (and all the ailments they exacerbate) with her science-backed diet hacks.
Disseminating the facts in accessible bites on her Instagram account has built her an impressive following.
This community of 1.6 million serves as anecdotal proof. Comments on her posts profess astonishing results from shedding pounds, curing PCOS and backpedalling diabetes!
The key to all this, Inchauspé ensures, is “flattening your glucose curve”.
Inchauspé’s book is filled with example graphs of worrying blood glucose spikes that happen after ingesting sweet treats.
In a nutshell (do read Jessie’s book for a more educated and expansive explanation), significant and regular spikes in our blood glucose levels are bad because it causes damage to our bodies.
This damage causes inflammation and makes us age faster.
If blood glucose levels remain elevated we risk developing insulin resistance or a “dysregulated metabolic system”. Which is bad news. It can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, Chronic fatigue, depression, cancer, Alzheimer’s… what isn’t on the list you ask?
It may come across as fatalistic but it seems that sugar can have detrimental effects on all of our body’s systems.
Follow These Rules to Add Years To Your Life
There is a way, however, to have your cake and eat it without causing significant spikes in blood glucose levels.
Don’t misunderstand, sugar is sugar and will always cause an increase in these levels, but keeping it below a 30mg/dl increase is optimal and will make a huge difference to your health.
We can do this in various ways, as described in the book — but these are my key takeaways;
1. Eat foods in the right order
Fibre and protein first then fat, and then you can eat your starches and sugars.
The research says that “this sequencing is comparable to the effects of diabetes medications that are prescribed to diabetics to lower their glucose spikes”.
The fibre, protein and fat prevent the starches and sugars from being broken down and absorbed too quickly, thus preventing that glucose spike.
This can look like having a salad filled with greens before your meals, ordering a side of veggies at a restaurant and eating that first, or snacking on a small handful of nuts before you dig into a slice of cake.
2. Eat savoury breakfasts
Considering the above, it makes sense that the meal that breaks our fast should be the most fibre and protein filled.
In a fasted state we are more sensitive to glucose, and Inchauspé states that a glucose spike first thing “deregulates our glucose levels for the rest of the day”.
To prevent this, we want fibre, protein or fat to line our insides before any sugar or starch hits; so your typical breakfast cereals do not fit the bill here.
Included with the hacks are lists of food suggestions but my personal favourite savoury breakfasts are avocado or eggs on toast (sometimes both with mushrooms or spinach) or shakshuka.
I was pleased to learn that, if I fancy something sweet, a chia pudding with nut butter and berries is acceptable!
3. Eat your sweets
The main reason I could never go on a fad diet is that I love food. And I have always preferred sweet over savoury.
The great news is that our bodies can cope with sugar. It has various clever mechanisms to do so, but it does have its limits.
Modern processed food definitely pushes these limits. They are often filled with sugar (under various guises such as agave syrup, barley malt, brown rice syrup, dextrin, and maltodextrin, to name a few) and devoid of fibre — actively removed to increase a product's shelf life.
And eating this stuff all day long is taking its toll on our bodies.
While Inchauspé confirms that sugar is bad for us, she also gives us all the tools to enjoy our sweet treats with the least detriment to our glucose curves.
First, she recommends saving sweet snacks for your dessert.
If you really want that snack, Apple Cider Vinegar is your new best friend. ACV stops glucose from being absorbed at such a rate that it runs havoc around our bodies.
A tablespoon of the stuff in a glass of water (have it in tea or add some lemon or cinnamon to improve the taste) up to 20 minutes before or after something sweet has been proven to reduce the glucose curve — she also recommends drinking it through a straw to protect your teeth.
Secondly, after you eat, move.
Movement anytime is good, but going for a walk after you eat has been proven to reduce glucose spikes significantly. If you can’t go for a walk do some squats/push-ups/lunges. Anything will do.
Inchauspé impresses that something is better than nothing, as little as 30 squats could be enough to start lowering that spike.
Harnessing Healthy Habits
Inchauspé’s book caused a shift in my perspective. I became hyper-aware of how I was consuming sugar.
I now understand why I was filling my bowl with sweet granola and sugary fruit yoghurt every morning. And why I was incapable of stopping myself from reaching for several small sugary snacks throughout the day.
I had let my sweet tooth run wild.
Glucose Revolution shares dietary advice that isn’t restrictive while encouraging enjoyment. Inchauspé proves that we don’t need to make crazy changes to our life to witness crazy results.
It also provides us with tools to make small and sustainable changes that can become unbreakable habits.
The changes I have made to my diet aren’t drastic in terms of content or quantity of food. Instead, it’s the impact that feels drastic.
It’s been less than a week since I started implementing Inchauspé’s recommended changes and I’m waking up earlier feeling ready and refreshed, I feel fuller for longer so I’ve stopped snacking on Oreos all day long and I’ve noticed an improvement in my mood!
Now, I’m consuming my sugar mindfully and enjoying every bite.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical professional, this article serves only as a review of the book Glucose Revolution and is not medical advice. If you have a medical condition, any changes to your diet should be talked through with your doctor.
I’d also like to note that everyone is different. There are no magic cures or one-size-fits-all diets. Approach health and well-being advice with care and an open mind. Notice changes in your own body and adapt accordingly.
