A CGM is a small device that sticks to the body and measures glucose levels in the interstitial fluid between your cells just below your skin, 24 hours a day, with a Bluetooth transmitter sending the data to your smartphone or a receiver. This sensor gives a complete image of your blood sugar changes and models, by sending data every 5 to 15 minutes, and users can easily see the effect of their food and exercise choices. Once available only with a prescription, CGMs are more accessible than ever than the two main manufacturers have published over the counter versions of their sensors.
“There are people for whom to see how the figures change is a transformative experience,” explains Jay Lusk, MD, expert in preventive medicine at the University of Caroline du Nord’s medical school in Chapel Hill. “They establish a link between their behavior and this biomarker, and that changes everything for them.” He says that the unique advantage of CGMs is that they can “help patients take more agency on their health”.
Diana Isaacs, Pharmd, CDCE, Director of Education and Technology Training at Cleveland Clinic Endocrinology and Metabolism Institute, agrees. “It is very different when I say to someone:” Hey, did you know that cereals can increase your glucose, and if you try to eat a hard egg, it will not make glucose also glucose? “But there is something to live yourself who says:” Oh, I understand now, I’m going to make a change. “”
This feedback in blood sugar is considered to be extremely precious for the optimal management of diabetes. It seems logical that the same type of feedback could help people without diabetes keep their blood sugar under control, which could delay or reverse the progression of conditions such as insulin resistance, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
But so far, there is little data proving that this leads to an improvement in health results in people without diabetes. “There is a theoretical promise there,” says Dr. Lusk, “but the data is still still on this issue.”
