It started with a donut.
One morning in her 20s, Jessie Inchauspé says, she grabbed her usual sugary breakfast on her way to work in Silicon Valley — and noticed something strange.
Her new fitness tracker showed her blood sugar spiking, then crashing. The pattern mirrored her bouts of brain fog, anxiety, and exhaustion, she said.
“It might seem obvious today that what we eat impacts our mental health, but back then, for me, I hadn’t connected the dots,” Inchauspé told Business Insider.
That moment sent Inchauspé — now known to millions online as the Glucose Goddess — down a rabbit hole. She joined a pilot study using a continuous glucose monitor (or, CGM), devices that were typically reserved for people with diabetes, to see how food affected the day-to-day mood and energy of otherwise healthy people.
Years later, she has built a massive brand around the insights she took away from that turning point. More than 5 million people follow her on Instagram, where she shares what she calls “glucose hacks” for steady energy, metabolism, and sleep cycles.
CGMs have since exploded in popularity among athletes, CEOs, and ordinary people trying to lose weight or to feel less sluggish. Some are now sold without a prescription, such as the Stelo, a device from Dexcom that Inchauspé has partnered with.
The science behind blood-sugar “optimization” is evolving. It’s normal to have occasional dips and spikes in blood sugar, and researchers have not yet determined what the optimal range might be for people without diabetes. Dietitians caution that self-tracking can sometimes lead to overanalyzing normal biological responses.
Still, Inchauspé said she’s seen lasting benefits in her day-to-day life from understanding her blood sugar and adopting a few simple strategies that echo long-standing nutritional advice.
Dexcom
“Saying that glucose only matters if you have diabetes is to me like saying brushing your teeth only matters if you have cavities,” Inchauspé told Business Insider. “We all feel the effects of our glucose levels on a daily basis.”
Here are three simple changes that she says made the biggest difference for her health, and how they stack up with nutrition advice.
Related stories
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Eating more protein at breakfast
Inchauspé said changing her morning routine helped her avoid an afternoon slump.
Previously, she started the day with cereal or granola bars, which seemed healthy but sent her blood sugar skyrocketing.
For a more balanced breakfast, she switched to eggs, Greek yogurt with unsweetened nut butter, or a smoothie with protein powder — and she says her mood and energy dramatically improved. Now, a high-protein breakfast has become a non-negotiable for her.
“Anchoring your day with a protein-rich breakfast that keeps you steady is really, really key,” Inchauspé said. “It changed how I felt. It changed how I ate, how I was connected to my body.”
After having a baby, Inchauspé says those changes have become even more important.
“It was a pretty intense journey, but having that little bit of data felt quite grounding,” she said.
Including protein with each meal is dietitian-approved advice, though the total amount of protein you need each day depends on your weight and goals.
Starting a meal with veggies
Inchauspé insists she is not anti-carbs — in fact, she tells her large audience, carbs can be healthy.
“I love pasta and I could never give up pasta, nor do I want to,” she said.
But these days, she starts the meal with a salad with a flavorful, low-sugar miso dressing, or other fiber-rich vegetables that support healthy digestion.
“It’s not necessarily replacing things, but also just learning when and how to eat them so I can still get all the joy out of them with less impact on my glucose levels,” Inchauspé said.
Front-loading fiber helps to slow the absorption of carbs so that blood sugar levels coast along more of a gently rolling hill than a roller coaster.
Choosing high-fiber fruit
Sahim Ahmed
Inchauspé used to snack on grapes, assuming they were healthy, until she noticed they led to an afternoon slump.
“I just thought, ‘oh, they’re so healthy. They’re fruit, they’re so natural,'” she said.
Now, she prefers an apple with peanut butter.
A serving of grapes has a fraction of the fiber as an apple, so the sugars digest more quickly, leading to a fast boost that doesn’t last. The gut-healthy fiber in an apple, combined with the healthy fats in nut butter, helps smooth out the digestive process.
Individual responses to carbs can vary widely, though. New research even suggests people have different “glucotypes” that influence how their bodies handle sugar.
“I’m all for being as balanced and nuanced as possible. A donut is not the best thing for your blood sugar, but I would never tell you, ‘you could not ever eat a donut ever again,'” Inchauspé said. “That would be ridiculous.”
The takeaway
While scientists continue to study what blood-sugar tracking means for healthy people, Inchauspé’s popularity underscores a growing trend: people want data — and simple changes — to feel more energized and in control of their health.
Bottom line: Take a common-sense approach to your diet — don’t try to restrict too much, and be mindful of your own unique needs and goals.
