Glucose Monitors May Help You Prevent Diabetes

If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, you may have already discussed with your endocrinologist the benefits of regularly monitoring your blood glucose levels.

Some doctors are recommending that patients with an A1C within the pre-diabetes range consider wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). This medical device uses a sensor inserted under the skin to continuously track blood glucose levels in real time, 24/7. It provides continuous data, trends, and alarms for high/low levels, and uses interstitial fluid rather than blood, reducing the need for finger sticks.

Why would you wear a medical device that tracks the rise and fall of your blood sugar if you don’t have diabetes?

When you know more about your health, you can make smarter choices and lower your risk for preventable diseases like Type II Diabetes.

“The use of over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor devices in people without diabetes should be mostly educational and informational,” says Rodolfo Galindo, M.D., an endocrinologist and director of the Comprehensive Diabetes Center with the University of Miami Health System.

“The availability of CGMs allows people with normal glucose or pre-diabetes to understand the impact of their daily routines — including their diet, alcohol intake, physical activity, sleep, and stress — on their glucose metabolism. The use of CGM in this group is of great value since it can help identify people at higher risk of progression to Type II Diabetes.”

This type of monitoring was recently recommended by an international expert clinician’s report.

By wearing a CGM, you may discover that your blood sugar tends to spike at certain times of day or that you respond differently to certain foods.

Understanding what triggers these reactions may encourage you to make healthy choices, such as:

• going for a walk after dinner every night
• consulting with a registered dietitian
• monitoring other risk factors for pre-/diabetes and heart disease, such as your blood pressure, lipid count, and cholesterol.

“A healthy lifestyle, with a balanced diet and physical activity, is usually recommended,” says Dr. Galindo, for adults with and without diabetes. If you know that you have a higher risk for developing diabetes, “A variety of healthy eating patterns, such as the Mediterranean style diet, intermittent fasting, and a low-carbohydrate diet, are likely to help you manage that risk.”

If you wear a glucose monitor, do you still need to check your A1C?

“A1C has been widely used for years as a diagnostic test. However, it does not provide specific and personalized analysis of your glycemic excursions,” Dr. Galindo says. “So, A1C alone cannot allow for a more personalized approach to modifying your risk factors as a CGM can. I would recommend using both. A1C is standardized, well-validated, and easy to use. In addition, a CGM will provide personalized information on your glycemic responses.”

In this report, the majority of clinicians recommend follow-up A1C testing for adults without diabetes whose blood glucose is above the normal range (>180 mg/dL) more than 2% of the time, even if their HbA1c is below 5.7% and their fasting glucose is lower than 100 mg/dL.

Once you understand how your body responds to certain foods, activity, sleep and stress, you may be able to prevent blood sugar spikes through healthy daily habits. If your glucose levels remain stable, you may not need to monitor them every day. Instead, plan to check your A1C at least once a year — or more often if your doctor recommends closer monitoring based on your personal risk factors and family history.

“Our modern society and medical community focus on treating diseases, with little emphasis on prevention,” Dr. Galindo says.

“With Type II Diabetes, prevention is possible. Using a CGM to understand your glycemic patterns in response to your specific lifestyle can be beneficial and allow for personalized educational and life-changing behavioral modifications.”

Written by Dana Kantrowitz. Medically reviewed by Rodolfo Galindo, M.D., director of the Comprehensive Diabetes Center.

Tags: Dr. Rodolfo Galindo, early intervention for prediabetes, glucose variability patterns, real-time glucose tracking