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The Glucose Goddess – French biochemist and best-selling author Jessie Inchauspé – is on a mission to help people around the world improve their physical and mental health by controlling their blood sugar levels.
‘We are in a sugar crisis – it’s everywhere – and our food, our snacks and drinks are damaging our health, and we don't even realise it,’ she says in the opening of her new Channel 4 series, Eat Smart: Secrets of The Glucose Goddess, which aired last night.
Amassing more than 5 million followers on Instagram, her tips for managing glucose levels frequently capture widespread attention. However, it was an unexpected event 14 years ago, when she suffered a spinal injury from a waterfall jump, that sparked her fascination with glucose regulation.
"It brought me to a very low point, both physically and mentally – at times, it seemed like life wasn't worth living," she tells the camera.
While her back healed following surgery, this life-changing event prompted her to better understand her physiology – so she tried a glucose monitor and started looking more closely at her diet.
In her latest series on Channel 4, Inchauspé invites individuals grappling with various issues, including Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea, to transform their eating habits and test whether her leading "glucose hacks" can effectively regulate significant blood sugar fluctuations over six weeks. This marks a notable shift from her usual role as an "Instagram influencer," where she primarily focuses on producing digital content and authoring books. Remarkably, this is her inaugural experience collaborating with a group of volunteers in person.
In the premiere episode, we are introduced to 27-year-old Ashlee from Bridgend, who has faced the challenges of severe acne since the age of 14. Her skin condition has affected her self-esteem to the point where she advised her boyfriend against proposing, saying, "I can't get engaged like this."
"She expresses to Inchauspé, 'Waking up in the morning without acne all over would be incredible.'"
To demonstrate the effectiveness of her techniques, Inchauspé examines Ashlee's eating habits, which primarily include takeout food, frozen meals, chocolate, chips, and cookies. With the assistance of GP and chef Dr. Rupy Aujla, she then presents Ashlee with straightforward recipes designed to help control blood sugar fluctuations.
Can her recipes and advice really transform the lives of these eager volunteers in only six weeks?
“Inchauspé points out that many convenience foods undergo extensive processing. This results in high amounts of unhealthy fats, excessive sugar, and minimal fiber – all of which are detrimental to our health. Furthermore, indulging in these foods fills our diets with less space for nutritious options that truly support our well-being. In essence, by choosing processed foods, we’re undermining our own health.”
So far, it all makes sense. After all, it’s not exactly news that eating too much ultra-processed food (UPF) is bad for us.
However, Inchauspé has faced significant criticism online, particularly for marketing a supplement called the Anti Spike Formula on her website, priced at £49.50 each, which she asserts aids in ‘lowering your blood sugar levels.’
It's important to keep in mind that fluctuations in energy levels due to sugar intake are a natural bodily reaction to food consumption. When we eat carbohydrates, our body metabolizes them into sugars, which fuel our cells and various bodily functions. This process results in a temporary spike in blood sugar levels, usually reaching its highest point approximately 30 minutes post-meal, before settling back to normal levels after about two hours.
However, if your goal is to keep them from skyrocketing, Inchauspé's tips provide some valuable insights to consider.
Jessie Inchauspé’s 5 simple hacks to manage glucose levels
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1. Dress up your carbohydrates.
When we eat carbs – starches like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes or sugars (that’s anything sweet – from an apple to a slice of chocolate cake) – on their own, Inchauspé calls these ‘naked’ carbs. Clothing, she says, is protein, fats or fibres.
Rather than opting for a simple bowl of plain pasta, which is often referred to as 'naked' pasta, Inchauspé suggests enhancing your dish with chicken, spinach, and olive oil. This combination helps to moderate the speed at which carbohydrates enter your bloodstream, ultimately reducing the glucose spike.
2. Consume your meal in the proper sequence.
Inchauspé claims that consuming your meal in a specific sequence can lead to a 75% reduction in the glucose spike associated with that meal. She suggests starting with vegetables, followed by proteins, then fats, and finally carbohydrates and sugars. "Simply rearranging the order in which you eat can significantly lessen your glucose spike," she explains.
3. Every type of sugar is still sugar.
"Inchauspé explains, 'You may believe that using honey in your tea is a healthier choice compared to regular sugar, but when it comes to managing your glucose levels, all forms of sugar are essentially the same.' Whether it's brown sugar, white sugar, honey, agave, or maple syrup, they all consist of glucose and affect our bodies in a similar way."
4. Always enjoy sugar as a dessert, and avoid having it as a sweet snack between meals.
According to Inchauspé, the ideal moment to indulge in a sugary treat is post-meal, when your stomach is already filled with food. Consuming a sweet snack between meals, especially on an empty stomach, can lead to a rapid release of sugar into your bloodstream, resulting in a significant spike in glucose levels.
"She mentions, 'Whenever I come across a cookie or doughnut that looks absolutely scrumptious during the day, I tend to purchase it and save it for dessert after my next meal.'"
5. Cease calorie counting
"In the past, the method for determining the calorie content in food involved igniting the food and assessing the heat released during combustion. This process was the basis for calculating the number of calories, as Inchauspé describes."
Tracking calorie intake doesn't always lead to better health results: "Focusing solely on calories can lead to consuming a low-calorie diet that lacks essential nutrients," she explains. "It's more beneficial to concentrate on getting enough protein, healthy fats, and fiber – you'll feel significantly better than if you're just fixated on calorie counting."
Eat Smart: Secrets of The Glucose Goddess is out now on Channel 4
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