17-05-2025
Can food order and vinegar hacks help manage blood sugar?
Jessie Inchauspé, aka the Glucose Goddess, shares practical tips on managing blood sugar, such as eating foods in the right order, adding veggies to meals, and choosing savoury breakfasts.
Her Instagram account and books translate complex nutritional science into easy hacks to boost energy, reduce cravings, and improve overall health.
Experts acknowledge her advice as valid but note that much of it aligns with established nutritional principles.
French content creator and New York Times bestselling author Jessie Inchauspé, aka the Glucose Goddess, is changing how people see food and manage their blood sugar levels. She is the author of two books on managing glucose levels for wellness: Glucose Revolution and The Glucose Goddess Method.
She has also appeared on countless TV and radio shows, spreading the message about her journey into the health world which began with a life-changing accident that left her with a broken back.
Years later, after earning a master's degree in biochemistry at Georgetown University, she started working as a product manager for 23andMe, a genetics start-up. During her time there, Jessie tried wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) as part of an internal study.
While she does not have diabetes, she describes the experience as 'life-changing'. She states that her interest in glucose levels arose from linking glucose spikes to mental health episodes of depersonalisation-derealisation disorder, which she says she had suffered from since her accident at 19.
Inchauspé then started the @glucosegoddess Instagram account on which she shared graphs from her CGM data to explain nutritional science clearly and engagingly.
She describes herself as a 'science communicator trying to help people understand how food impacts their bodies.'
Her goal? To 'impact public health on a global scale.'
So, what are some of her hacks?
Eat foods in the right order
According to Inchauspé, each meal should start with fibre—so veggies. Then, proteins and fat, and lastly, carbs and sugar.
Add a green starter to all your meals
Every meal must start with some veggies, she shares. 'Veggie starters reduce the glucose spike of the meal that follows them. The objective is for the veggie starter to make up about 30% of the meal.'
Stop counting calories
According to the Glucose Goddess, counting calories is sometimes a waste of time. She shares, 'Counting calories doesn't necessarily improve health outcomes. Not all calories are equal: calories derived from fructose are more detrimental than those from glucose.'
Have a savoury breakfast
She proposes eating a filling, savoury breakfast packed with nutritional value. According to her, a savoury breakfast is composed of:
- Protein (the centrepiece)
- Fat
- Fibre (if possible)
- Optional starches - Nothing sweet except optional whole fruit (just for taste).
Have any type of sugar you like – they're all the same
According to her, no sugar is better for you, so choose what you prefer.
Pick dessert over a sweet snack
If we want to eat something sweet, our glucose should be as dessert after a meal rather than as a snack between meals, Inchauspé believes.
Reach for vinegar before you eat
Like many, she believes in the benefits of Apple cider vinegar for weight management and preventing rapid spikes in blood sugar levels. She suggests vinegar can be taken as:
- 1 tablespoon in a tall glass of water (with a straw), or
- As a salad dressing, 'Ideally, up to 20 minutes before a meal. This reduces the spike of your meal by up to 30%,' she shares.
After you eat, move
After meals, use your muscles for 10 minutes to reduce the glucose spike of the meal. Examples:
- Walking
- Tidying your house
- Doing calf raises, etc.
Put some clothes on your carbs
This means dressing your carbs up with other nutrient-dense foods, such as proteins and fats, to reduce the speed of glucose absorption in our body. She claims that these hacks can help improve energy levels and reduce cravings and that blood sugar balance is the key to physical and mental health.
Not everyone, however, believes that she has unlocked new secrets to blood sugar management. Many have accused her of revamping some of the oldest tricks in the book.
Laura Bellows, associate professor of Nutritional Science at Cornell University, said some of the 'glucose hacks' are 'widely accepted by nutritionists', such as having protein and fat with carbs.
