well aware
Sugar Sugar, How You Get So High?
Veggies before carbs. A walk after dinner. Maybe a glucose monitor stuck to your arm. Blood sugar has become another thing wellness culture wants us to optimize. Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) have long helped people manage diabetes. Then, in 2024, the FDA cleared the first over-the-counter CGM, which gave people without the chronic condition easier access to their glucose data. Now CGMs have joined the wellness-wearable rotation, with influencers like Jessie Inchauspé, aka Glucose Goddess, turning highs and lows into Instagram art. This year, The British Medical Journal charted their rise beyond diabetes care, thanks in part to social media.
There’s good reason to care about blood sugar: More than 2 in 5 US adults have prediabetes, and 8 in 10 don’t know it. But a post-lunch uptick isn’t inherently cause for concern. Blood sugar normally elevates after you eat, and there’s little evidence that CGMs improve health for people without diabetes. Experts also warn that constant data can make normal fluctuations look like problems to solve. So while metabolic health matters, a perfectly flat glucose line isn’t necessarily the goal.
For Your Sanity:
Don’t fear every spike. Carbs naturally raise blood sugar, but food isn’t the only factor. Stress, physical activity, sleep, and hormones can affect it, too. One bump doesn’t mean you ate something “bad.”
Zoom out from the graph. A CGM can show how your glucose responds to a meal, but it can’t diagnose diabetes. If you’re concerned about your risk, ask your doctor about testing rather than trying to reverse-engineer your health from an app.
Keep the boring stuff. You don’t need a live feed of everything you eat to support metabolic health. Regular movement and a balanced diet still matter, and if you have prediabetes, lifestyle changes can cut your risk of developing type 2 diabetes in half.
Well Reviewed
Under Pressure
Soups, chilis, creamy risottos — a pressure cooker is basically the unhinged chef who takes whatever random stuff is in your fridge and turns it into real food. If you’ve never used one, it’s peak low-effort. A three-hour simmer can become 20 minutes, so dinner actually happens before you give up and order takeout.
Cosori
Cosori 6.0-Quart Pressure Cooker is the best budget-friendly option.
Cuckoo
Cuckoo Twin Pressure Rice Cooker is the best option for grains.
Tupperware
Tupperware Microwave Pressure Cooker is the best microwaveable option.
Instant Pot
Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Mini Electric Pressure Cooker is the best compact option.
Here’s the full list of the best pressure cookers, according to experts.
Well Fed
Just Eat It
Back-to-school season is a good excuse to rethink lunch, even if no one packs it into a tiny bento box for you. Consider this a midday reset for anyone whose current routine involves a granola bar and whatever’s left in the office snack drawer.
First, respect the sandwich. There is apparently a correct way to build one so it doesn’t become a damp little disappointment by noon. Lettuce can make a good barrier, tomatoes may need to go on the side, and thinly sliced cold cuts offer a better bite.
Need more than sandwich science? These 35 lunch ideas may be geared toward kids, but Buffalo chicken wraps and taco pinwheels have no age limit. If your meal-prep ambitions tend to disappear by Sunday afternoon, Costco can take it from here, with lunches that require more assembly than actual cooking.
No Notes
well aware
Sugar Sugar, How You Get So High?
Veggies before carbs. A walk after dinner. Maybe a glucose monitor stuck to your arm. Blood sugar has become another thing wellness culture wants us to optimize. Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) have long helped people manage diabetes. Then, in 2024, the FDA cleared the first over-the-counter CGM, which gave people without the chronic condition easier access to their glucose data. Now CGMs have joined the wellness-wearable rotation, with influencers like Jessie Inchauspé, aka Glucose Goddess, turning highs and lows into Instagram art. This year, The British Medical Journal charted their rise beyond diabetes care, thanks in part to social media.
There’s good reason to care about blood sugar: More than 2 in 5 US adults have prediabetes, and 8 in 10 don’t know it. But a post-lunch uptick isn’t inherently cause for concern. Blood sugar normally elevates after you eat, and there’s little evidence that CGMs improve health for people without diabetes. Experts also warn that constant data can make normal fluctuations look like problems to solve. So while metabolic health matters, a perfectly flat glucose line isn’t necessarily the goal.
For Your Sanity:
Don’t fear every spike. Carbs naturally raise blood sugar, but food isn’t the only factor. Stress, physical activity, sleep, and hormones can affect it, too. One bump doesn’t mean you ate something “bad.”
Zoom out from the graph. A CGM can show how your glucose responds to a meal, but it can’t diagnose diabetes. If you’re concerned about your risk, ask your doctor about testing rather than trying to reverse-engineer your health from an app.
Keep the boring stuff. You don’t need a live feed of everything you eat to support metabolic health. Regular movement and a balanced diet still matter, and if you have prediabetes, lifestyle changes can cut your risk of developing type 2 diabetes in half.
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