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Hi, newbie doing the Zoe nutrition study, blood sugars worrying me!!

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JustMe

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
At risk of diabetes
Hi everyone. I have got myself in a bit of a tizz. I have recently started doing the Zoe nutritional study - if you haven't come across it, it is a big study looking into the differences between how people metabolise the food they eat. The study involves wearing a blood sugar monitor and doing various other tests too. So I have been monitoring my blood sugar for several days now whilst eating as normal (confession - I do snack too much.) Unfortunately it looks like my blood sugar levels are too high! These numbers are from yesterday, but today's readings are similar. Can anyone comment? Are these indicative of pre-diabetes or am I already there?? Thanks for any insights!
7am (on waking) - 6.2
8am after cup of tea and coffee - 6.9
Between then and lunch it was up and down for no obvious reasons between 4.8 and 6.1
Lunch I had veggie soup and half a baguette - after an hour blood sugar was 11.8
Bumbled along between 5.3 and 6.8 until dinner which was tuna pasta bake - went up to 8
 
JustMe said:
7am (on waking) - 6.2
8am after cup of tea and coffee - 6.9
Between then and lunch it was up and down for no obvious reasons between 4.8 and 6.1
Lunch I had veggie soup and half a baguette - after an hour blood sugar was 11.8
Bumbled along between 5.3 and 6.8 until dinner which was tuna pasta bake - went up to 8
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One could certainly argue that 11.8 is a bit high after lunch, but otherwise they look just fine so if I were you I wouldn't worry. By all means ask for an HbA1c to be added if you have a blood test.
 
Looks OK to me, don't think you got anything to worry about
 
What blood sugar monitor are you wearing @JustMe ? I have a Libre 2 and it tends to be inaccurate at the higher blood sugars eg it might say I’m 11 when I’m 9. If you’re worried about diabetes, ask for an HbA1C test as that’s the test that diagnoses diabetes and pre-diabetes, but I think your test results look ok 🙂

Blood sugar moves up and down throughout the day and night even when we don’t eat. Lots of things can affect it that we’re not aware of.
 
Phew, thanks for the replies! I did have an HbA1C about 6 months ago which was fine. Part of what spooked me is a friend and I both ate the same lunch but where my blood sugar went up to over 11, hers only got to 7; but we are all different, and sounds like Im panicking over nothing!
 
JustMe said:
but we are all different, and sounds like Im panicking over nothing!
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Probably. I think Libre can also read a bit high if you take ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). (I'm guessing the kind of person who'd be interested in this kind of thing is also the kind of person who might well take Vitamin C.)
 
I’m diabetic. I have 4 kids non of them diabetic but have tested blood sugar for fun (my kids are strange ) on several occasions. After the same meal once one daughter was somewhere in the 5’s one 6ish and one 11. Funnily enough it’s the daughter that doesn’t eat all day that has the highest sugars when she does have a big meal. It’s how soon you come back down and a normal hba1c suggests you don’t have an issue. Soup can hit you quick too, minimal digestion
 
EmmaL76 said:
I’m diabetic. I have 4 kids non of them diabetic but have tested blood sugar for fun (my kids are strange ) on several occasions. After the same meal once one daughter was somewhere in the 5’s one 6ish and one 11. Funnily enough it’s the daughter that doesn’t eat all day that has the highest sugars when she does have a big meal. It’s how soon you come back down and a normal hba1c suggests you don’t have an issue. Soup can hit you quick too, minimal digestion
Click to expand...
Incase anyones wondering I only listed the 3 daughters as the son is way too much of a wimp
 
EmmaL76 said:
I’m diabetic. I have 4 kids non of them diabetic but have tested blood sugar for fun (my kids are strange ) on several occasions. After the same meal once one daughter was somewhere in the 5’s one 6ish and one 11. Funnily enough it’s the daughter that doesn’t eat all day that has the highest sugars when she does have a big meal. It’s how soon you come back down and a normal hba1c suggests you don’t have an issue. Soup can hit you quick too, minimal digestion
Click to expand...

The pancreas does slow down if it's not doing anything, so the eating after a days fasting does make sense.
 
JustMe said:
Hi everyone. I have got myself in a bit of a tizz. I have recently started doing the Zoe nutritional study - if you haven't come across it, it is a big study looking into the differences between how people metabolise the food they eat. The study involves wearing a blood sugar monitor and doing various other tests too. So I have been monitoring my blood sugar for several days now whilst eating as normal (confession - I do snack too much.) Unfortunately it looks like my blood sugar levels are too high! These numbers are from yesterday, but today's readings are similar. Can anyone comment? Are these indicative of pre-diabetes or am I already there?? Thanks for any insights!
7am (on waking) - 6.2
8am after cup of tea and coffee - 6.9
Between then and lunch it was up and down for no obvious reasons between 4.8 and 6.1
Lunch I had veggie soup and half a baguette - after an hour blood sugar was 11.8
Bumbled along between 5.3 and 6.8 until dinner which was tuna pasta bake - went up to 8
Click to expand...

It doesn't sound too bad.
The Zoe study is supposed to bring out the foods you react badly to, and a reading after an hour isn't realy of any meaning, many rise, that's why the advice is to test after two hours.
What were you then?
 
travellor said:
It doesn't sound too bad.
The Zoe study is supposed to bring out the foods you react badly to, and a reading after an hour isn't realy of any meaning, many rise, that's why the advice is to test after two hours.
What were you then?
Click to expand...
True...I just mentioned the after an hour figure because it was the worst one. So after 2 hours it was 8.7, and 30 mins after that it was 4.3.
 
This is an issue with Zoe in particular and CGM's-for-everyone in general: "medicalising" normal blood glucose responses.
 
Eddy Edson said:
This is an issue with Zoe in particular and CGM's-for-everyone in general: "medicalising" normal blood glucose responses.
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Well not sure I can blame Zoe for alarming me...google suggested that my blood sugar levels were indicative of pre-diabetes. Hence my coming here to ask.
 
JustMe said:
Well not sure I can blame Zoe for alarming me...google suggested that my blood sugar levels were indicative of pre-diabetes. Hence my coming here to ask.
Click to expand...
I really is only the HbA1C that will give a reliable diagnosis rather than random reading from a monitor.
 
Bruce Stephens said:
There's potential for that. On the more positive side, perhaps all this monitoring will help everyone learn the range of what's normal.
Click to expand...
Don't underestimate the Power of The Grift.

The message from Zoe & others turns that around & says that just about everybody is metabolically unhealthy & needs to buy the personalised nutrition plan (which apparently in the majority of cases turns out to be pretty much the same as standard dietary advice).

See eg https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/waitrose-seeded-wholemeal-rolls.102031/#post-1196940

 
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Eddy Edson said:
The message from Zoe & others turns that around & says that just everybody is metabolically unhealthy & needs to buy the personalised nutrition plan (which in the majority of cases turns apparently out to be pretty much the same as standard dietary advice).
Click to expand...
Oh sure, and part of that is selling people a Libre sensor (or similar). And I'm really doubtful that there's much value in that. (I doubt there's any harm in non-diabetic people trying to reduce peaks after meals by (probably) changing what they eat a bit, but I doubt very much that there's much benefit.)

So maybe I'm wrong. Maybe society will come to believe that these normal variations are things they should try to reduce. I hope not, though.
 
Leadinglights said:
I really is only the HbA1C that will give a reliable diagnosis rather than random reading from a monitor.
Click to expand...
Friendly bunch on this forum, arent you all! I will crawl away in my zoe hole and not bother you all again with my silly questions.
 
Your questions aren’t silly @JustMe It’s very understandable to be anxious about anything to do with health if there’s the slightest ‘rogue figure’ or concern. I’ve worried myself about other non-diabetic things 🙂

As you’ve had an HbA1C in the last few months and that was ok, I wouldn’t worry. However, you can always to things to reduce your risk of Type 2 diabetes eg maintaining a healthy weight and taking exercise. You might also find that looking at lower GI meals helps because they can reduce any sharp rise in blood sugar. But your 4.3 above is perfect 🙂
 
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