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Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are wearable devices that track blood sugar levels in real time and were originally designed for people with diabetes. Lately, they’ve become a wellness gadget among health-conscious people who don’t have diabetes. Influencers say the data helps them make healthier food and lifestyle choices, fueling a growing interest in glucose monitoring beyond its original medical purpose.
We asked our chief medical officer, Sohaib Imtiaz, MD, to explain whether CGMs are helpful for people without diabetes.
Q: Continuous glucose monitors are really popular among people without diabetes who want to optimize their health. Is there really a benefit to tracking your blood sugar if you’re otherwise healthy?
Imtiaz: CGMs can provide real-time feedback that drives behavior changes. Anyone can benefit, but people who are on a weight loss journey or those with prediabetes stand to benefit most.
When people can see what’s happening in their bodies, like with CGMs to monitor glucose spikes, they’re more likely to change their diet and exercise to reduce those spikes.
They can start to notice patterns and think critically about them, like, “If I have fewer glucose spikes, will my sleep quality be better?” People can lead healthier lives and use the feedback from their CGM to start tailoring their nutrition, which can help prevent diabetes in the future.
Current research on CGMs doesn’t show that reducing just the spikes leads to better health, but tracking CGM data definitely leads to healthier behaviors.
Q: What can a CGM tell you exactly if you don’t have diabetes?
Wearing CGMs and managing blood sugar spikes can contribute to lifestyle optimization and potentially prevent early metabolic dysregulation (an imbalance in how your body converts food into energy). Some people report positive cognitive benefits or improvements in physical performance, but these are still largely anecdotal.
There is currently no clinically established benefit to wearing CGMs in people without diabetes, and they’re not covered by insurance. Some CGMs cost upwards of $200 out of pocket.
My take on this is that a CGM can reveal individual variability in your post-meal glucose levels and increase your awareness of the impact of diet, activity, and sleep on your blood sugar levels. Having access to this information can drive behavior modification and help prevent diabetes in the future.
Read the original article on Verywell Health
