Levels

How quickly can you fix your metabolism with diet and exercise? Levels Advisor Robert Lustig, MD explains how quickly metabolic health changes can take effect and how quickly they can revert. Lustig and his University of California, San Francisco colleagues completed a study in 43 children, where they replaced all the sugar in their diet with an identical amount of starch. Every metabolic parameter improved in the children by day nine. (PMID: 26499447) Researchers at San Francisco General completed a similar study in adults. Improvements occurred in two weeks. If you change your diet and start exercising, you should see results within a month, and likely within two weeks. And if you continue these habits, you will accumulate benefits. However, if you stop these lifestyle changes, the benefits will revert back to your baseline within two weeks. “We have data to show that even 15 minutes of walking each day will extend lifespan by three years,” Lustig says. “And 30 minutes of exercise every other day will extend lifespan by five years.” https://lnkd.in/g39jZqgT #metabolichealth #metabolism #CGM #levelshealth #healthtips #healthy #healthylife #bloodsugar

Why diet is not one-size-fits-all and how you can find one that works for you: Levels Co-Founder, Casey Means, MD, talks about bio-individuality, or how the same foods affect people differently. Dr. Means shares info about a study: ? Researchers gave 800 people without Type 2 diabetes continuous glucose monitors to measure glucose 24 hours a day. ? Participants ate standardized meals. ? Some people’s glucose raised 10 mg/dL, while others went up 100 mg/dL. ? Person A could have a huge spike to a banana and no spike to a cookie. ? And person B could experience the exact opposite. ? Researchers believe peoples’ microbiomes were a key factor in how they responded to foods. ? Wearing a continuous glucose monitor can help you track your glucose responses. “It really comes down to choices,” Dr. Means says. “And right now we don’t have a lot of help to understand what choices to make for our own body. And that’s where wearables—especially bio wearables—can be very helpful.” https://lnkd.in/gD7gRjKV #metabolichealth #metabolism #CGM #levelshealth #healthtips #healthy #healthylife #bloodsugar

Four features of the Levels app that put YOU in charge of your health by helping you dial in healthier habits and track trends over time. ?? Log food and track macros seamlessly ? You can log your meals and snacks with features like AI describe, barcode scanning, and taking a photo of your food. ? The integrated AI features do the work for you and calculate your macros: protein, fat, carbs (including fiber). ?? Stay on track with habits and trends ? Track your habits regarding sleep, physical activity, macros, and more. ? View habit trends and insights to keep you accountable. ?? See your blood sugar in real-time ? When paired with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) sensor, the app shows you your blood sugar in real-time so you can see how different foods (and your lifestyle habits) affect your levels and how you feel. ? Learn how to mitigate blood sugar spikes. ? Track daily, weekly, and longer-term trends. ?? Track key markers and reveal risks ? You can order biomarker testing or import your existing lab results to get a better picture of your health status and chronic disease risk. ? See how lifestyle changes affect your biomarkers over time. levels.link/linkedin #metabolichealth #metabolism #CGM #levelshealth #healthtips #healthy #healthylife #bloodsugar

Why food order matters Levels Co-Founder Casey Means, MD, and “Glucose Goddess” Jessie Inchauspé talked about all things glucose, including how food order strategies can help mitigate blood sugar spikes. ???If you eat the elements of your meal in a specific order, you can cut the glucose spike by up to 75%. ??Food order: - veggies - protein and fats - starches and sugars https://lnkd.in/gspY9J3K #metabolichealth #metabolism #CGM #levelshealth #healthtips #healthy #healthylife #bloodsugar

Available wherever you listen to podcasts.??? Dietary fat is not the problem Levels Advisor Robert Lustig, MD, discusses obesity and its causes. High insulin drives fat storage. What drives high insulin? Refined carbohydrates and sugar. And the more dietary fat you consume while generating insulin, the higher your insulin will go. The only way to lose weight is to keep insulin low. You can reduce insulin by limiting or avoiding refined carbohydrates and sugar. https://lnkd.in/gaC9Tctr #metabolichealth #metabolism #CGM #levelshealth #healthtips #healthy #healthylife #bloodsugar

Fix this health mistake: stop eating a grain-based breakfast. Levels Co-Founder Casey Means, MD, explains. ???Oatmeal has long been considered a heart-healthy breakfast, touted for its high fiber and whole grains. But grain-based breakfasts often spike blood sugar and cause reactive hypoglycemia, leading to energy slumps. ???Understanding reactive hypoglycemia: ? When you eat oatmeal, your blood sugar will go up. ? This spike is followed by a large insulin release that tells cells to soak up the glucose. ? Then blood sugar plummets in response to the insulin surge. ? This reactive hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can leave you feeling tired, moody, anxious, jittery, nauseous, and more. ??What you can do: ? Opt for a savory (not sweet) breakfast. ? Eggs, avocados, veggies, and low-glycemic fruits are great choices. ? Buy or make your own no-oat “oatmeal”; these products often contain ground nuts and flax, rather than oats. ? Try a protein- and fiber-packed smoothie (just be mindful to avoid added sugar). https://lnkd.in/gT-UyHCs #metabolichealth #metabolism #CGM #levelshealth #healthtips #healthy #healthylife #bloodsugar

Tips and tricks for using the Levels app 1. Use landscape mode to view the glucose graph on a wider scale. 2. Use your fingers to zoom into the glucose graph and view all your glucose points. 3. Use the “Library” tab to find Levels articles and recipes. 4. Use the “Latest Updates” feature to view the most recent info. 5. Use the “Calendar” view to look at your trends. 6. Upload your labs data. (We support 10 biomarkers). 7. Switch between the “Habits” view and the “Stability” view on the day slider. 8. Tap “My Data” and select any metric, you can scroll down and see community averages. https://lnkd.in/gRGCj7uK #metabolichealth #tipsandtricks #foodlogging #CGM

How the Levels app provides a window into one’s health Levels Advisor Sara Szal, MD, author of “The Autoimmune Cure,” joined us for an episode of A Whole New Level to talk about lifestyle interventions for health and what helps motivate people to make them. @saragottfriedmd Receiving regular data from a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and other types of devices or tests empowers people to make behavioral changes. When you can see on an app that your metabolic health is declining rather than improving, you have the motivation to adjust your diet, activity level, stress level, sleep quality and quantity, and more. In comparison, annual tests at the doctor’s office, while important, don’t provide this regular insight into metabolic health status. They are single-point-in-time measurements impacted by various factors. https://lnkd.in/g6hHWfPq #metabolichealth #metabolism #CGM #levelshealth #healthtips #healthy #healthylife #bloodsugar

Is Psyllium husk “nature’s Ozempic”? Psyllium, when combined with water, turns into a gel that slows digestion. It may help to lower cholesterol and blood sugar and lessen cravings. Tips: - Use a plain powder without added sugars. - Start slow (with a small amount before increasing) and stay hydrated. - If you take medications, talk to your doctor first. https://lnkd.in/ggwW6A8p #metabolichealth #metabolism #CGM #levelshealth #healthtips #healthy #healthylife #bloodsugar

Why we need food closer to its original form Levels Founder and President Josh Clemente was recently on the Dhru Purohit Show to discuss the metabolic health crisis and the foods contributing to the health problems people in the United States face today. Through the Levels app and various studies, Levels has a large dataset implicating some of the worst foods for people’s metabolic health. A chicken sandwich may not sound like a problematic food. But if you look at the list of ingredients for a brand-name item, such as Chick-fil-A sandwich, you’ll see that the list is lengthy. That’s because fast-food chains and other companies have turned a simple food item into an industrialized product with a long shelf life. On Levels app data, brand-name foods like these often show up as some of the worst foods for metabolic health, giving people large blood glucose spikes. Over time, repeated large spikes can lead to high blood sugar and insulin resistance, which can progress to prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. “Let’s get the food closer to its original form, with as little processing as possible and ideally in a manner that still has its fiber attached and with the other proteins and whole grains that it came with,” Clemente says. https://lnkd.in/gx43HFnA #metabolichealth #metabolism #CGM #levelshealth #healthtips #healthy #healthylife #bloodsugar