Book SummaryGlucose Revolution, by Jessie Inchauspé

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Glucose Revolution

Do you often get hungry soon after eating? Do you feel tired and out of sorts throughout the day? If so, you may be experiencing glucose spikes. In Glucose Revolution, Jessie Inchauspé explores glucose’s role as our body’s primary energy source while also examining the adverse consequences of too much glucose. She argues that glucose spikes are at the center of most common health issues and offers a collection of strategies for taking control of your health by stabilizing your glucose levels.

Inchauspé is a biochemist and the creator of the...

Glucose Revolution Summary How Glucose Works in the Body

According to Inchauspé, the molecule glucose is vital for our existence. It’s our body’s most important energy source, and we get it from the food we eat.

(Shortform note: Our whole body uses glucose for energy, but it’s especially important to the brain. Our brains are extremely dense with nerve cells that consume half of the body’s sugar energy. Cognitive functions such as memory, learning, and thinking depend on glucose levels and the efficiency of glucose uptake, so our brain suffers when our glucose levels are off. For instance, when too little glucose is available to the brain, it fails to produce neurotransmitters—chemical messengers that carry information between neurons.)

In this section, we’ll discuss where we get our glucose and how it acts as an energy source in the body. We’ll also define glucose spikes and explore why many modern diets damage our health by providing us with too much glucose at once.

Where Does Glucose Come From?

As Inchauspé states, we need glucose to survive, but we can’t synthesize it ourselves. **This means that we must get it from another source:...

Glucose Revolution Summary Glucose Spikes and Health Problems

In the last section, we covered the basics of where glucose comes from, how it works in the body, and how too much of it causes stress in the body on a molecular level.

In this section, we’ll examine how frequent glucose spikes—and the corresponding effects of increased free radicals, oxidative stress, and glycation—contribute to many acute and chronic health conditions, including the following:

Type 2 Diabetes

According to the author, type 2 diabetes is the condition that’s most commonly associated with increased glucose levels. It results from the relationship between glucose and [restricted term]: First, as previously noted, when we experience glucose spikes, the pancreas releases [restricted term] to store away the excess glucose as glycogen in the liver, muscles, and fat. The more glucose there is, the more [restricted term] is released, and the more glucose has to be stored as fat.

Second, as the pancreas releases more and more [restricted term], our cells become resistant to the hormone. Because of this resistance, larger quantities of [restricted term] are needed to store the same amount of glucose as glycogen.

Eventually, the storage system fails—the...

Glucose Revolution Summary Strategies for Stabilizing Your Glucose Levels

Now that we’ve discussed some of the most dangerous and unpleasant effects of glucose spikes, we’ll touch on some of Inchauspé’s strategies for preventing them. In this final section, you’ll learn methods for stabilizing your glucose levels, including how to eat and what to eat.

How to Eat to Prevent Glucose Spikes

According to Inchauspé, the key to preventing glucose spikes isn’t just in what you eat—it also matters how you eat your food. The following strategies can help you stabilize your glucose levels without requiring you to give up anything you like to eat:

Strategy #1: Eat Fiber First

Inchauspé argues that you can dramatically reduce glucose spikes by simply changing the order in which you eat your food. Start your meal with fiber, then eat proteins and fats, and finish with starchy and sweet carbohydrates.

(Shortform note: Regulating glucose levels by changing the order in which you eat may help people who aren’t able to change their diet by altering what they eat. [There are many factors that influence our food...

Shortform Exercise: Begin Stabilizing Your Glucose Levels

Inchauspé offers many strategies for stabilizing your glucose levels. Think about how you might begin to apply her advice to better your health.

Describe a time when you likely experienced a glucose spike. What symptoms did you have? (For example, maybe you recently felt exhausted after eating a carbohydrate-heavy lunch, or you were hungry again less than two hours after eating.)