Can the Anti-Spike pill stop our blood glucose spikes?
‘Glucose has become the new gluten —a medical sensitivity turned nutritional obsession for the masses’. Every second article, Instagram post or TikTok seems to reference pushing you to manage your glucose levels and avoid the dreaded spikes.
The Glucose Goddess is at the midst of some of the latest discussions, due to the launch of her new Anti-Spike pill, which is set to launch in April. In short, the pill claims to minimise the spike in glucose levels after consuming your favourite carbohydrates.
Could it be as simple as popping this pill when it comes to managing your glucose levels?!
What is glucose?
Glucose is a fundamental type of sugar present in various foods such as bread, pasta, rice, fruits, and vegetables. When consumed, it serves as a primary energy source for the body. Through a process called cellular respiration, glucose is broken down into a molecule called ATP, which fuels cellular activities. This energy is essential for the functioning of muscles, organs, and all other body systems. Additionally, excess glucose can be stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen for future energy needs.
Without an adequate supply of glucose, the body’s cells wouldn’t have the energy required to carry out their functions effectively, leading to fatigue and other health issues.
What happens when we eat carbohydrates?
As noted, when we eat carbohydrates our digestive system breaks them down into glucose. This glucose is then absorbed into the bloodstream, causing blood sugar levels to rise. In response, the pancreas releases insulin, a hormone that helps cells take in glucose from the blood to use as energy or store for later use.
Some of the glucose is immediately used by the body’s cells for energy, especially by muscles and the brain. Any excess glucose is stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen for future energy needs.
The entire process is known as carbohydrate metabolism. It is a normal part of our physiology.
There are two key types of carbs – simple and complex:
- Simple carbohydrates: those which are metabolised quickly, releasing glucose into the bloodstream rapidly, and causing a quick rise in blood sugar levels, are known as simple carbohydrates. They are found in processed and refined sugars such as table sugar and syrups.
- Complex carbohydrates: on the other hand, carbohydrates that are digested at a slower rate, have less of an immediate effect on blood sugar levels and provide us with a prolonged, steady energy release are known as complex carbohydrates. They include quinoa, brown rice, sweet potato and whole-grain bread.
Our bodies perform at their best when blood sugar levels are kept relatively constant. Therefore, it’s important to understand the effect that different carbohydrates can have.
After you eat, it is entirely normal to see a post-meal glucose elevation (often referred to as ‘spikes’). It is a sign that the food you are eating is being converted into energy. Your body is doing its job as it should.
It is important to note that for those with diabetes, this process is impaired. The body either cannot produce enough insulin or cannot use insulin effectively, leading to elevated blood sugar levels. To combat this, people with type 1 diabetes take insulin and those with type 2 use a combination of lifestyle changes and medication to manage it.
What is the Anti-Spike pill?
The anti-spike pill is a supplement by the Glucose Goddess, which is set to launch next month.
Jessie Inchauspé, also known as Glucose Goddess, is a French bio-chemist whose work is based around bio-hacks to optimise your blood glucose levels.
The Glucose Goddess, claims the supplement will optimise blood sugar levels and reduce the spike of carbs and sugar by up to 40%. She notes you can eat what you love, with less impact on your glucose. It will set you back £46 for 30 servings.
The supplement is made up of a mixture of 100% natural ingredients, including white mulberry leaf, lemon extract, vegetable extracts, and cinnamon extracts.
There appears to be some small-scale, low-grade, evidence that each ingredient individually has some of the benefits claimed. However, there doesn’t seem to be any large-scale, good-quality research on the supplement as a whole. It can be argued that you should not be able to infer effects from single ingredients in studies to a combination of ingredients. Having attempted to look this up online, it seems the query is evaded. Confirmation of any appropriate research is currently unavailable.
What’s our take on the Glucose Goddess Anti-Spike pill to stop our blood sugar spikes?
At this stage, it’s a no from us and seems pretty unnecessary.
Anything that sounds like a quick fix and one which may negatively impact your food choices, should undoubtedly be questioned.
If your blood sugars are balanced the majority of the time then occasional increases in blood sugars are not a cause for concern. You’ll likely have appropriate insulin sensitivity and production to regulate them.
We need to avoid demonising a completely normal part of our physiology and thinking a pill will help us outdo suboptimal dietary choices. Instead, we need to understand the impact different carbohydrates have on our blood glucose levels and tailor our intake around this.
Focus on minimising our intake of highly refined processed carbs and focus on complex carbohydrates as much as possible.
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