Things I learned this week: This week I introduce you to the last 5 hacks that Jessie Inchauspé shares in her book Glucose Revolution.

Hack #5 - Pick dessert over a sweet snack - that means if you want to have something sweet, add it on to the end of the meal when you have already had some fiber, protein and fat and then the dessert will have a softer effect on your body. If you have a craving for a dessert in the middle of the day - get the dessert but wait to eat it til the end of your next meal. When you eat a dessert that is on an empty stomach you will most likely have a big glucose spike.

Hack #7 - Reach for Vinegar before you eat - Vinegar is really cool. So I am going to quote what she wrote in her book “The enzyme alpha-amylase, it chops starch back up into glucose, well vinegar or acetic acid temporarily inactivates that enzyme. As a result, glucose and starch are transformed into glucose more slowly and the glucose hits our system more softly. Second, once acetic acid gets into the bloodstream, it penetrates our muscles: there, it encourages our muscles to make glycogen faster than they usually would, which in turn leads to more efficient uptake of glucose. It also reduces the amount of insulin in our body - which helps us get back to fat burning mode – It also has a remarkable effect on our DNA. It tells out DNA to reprogram a bit so that our mitochondria burn more fat. Yep. For Real.”

So vinegar adds a boost to your body! So all those crazy vinegar drinks that I have seen on Pinterest claiming to help you lose weight were actually true! She suggests to add one tablespoon of vinegar (any kind) to a tall glass of water and to drink with a stray to protect you teeth.

Hack #8 - After you eat - move - This is another great one. In the book she tells us that we have about 70 minutes after we eat til our glucose levels hit our spikes. If we choose to go on a 10 minute walk or use our muscles like doing squats that can then help out body use up the extra blood sugar and will then flatten our curve.

“As soon as the influx of glucose (from a large bowl of rice for example) hits our body, two things happen. If we stay sedentary as the spike reaches its peak, glucose floods our cells and overwhelms our mitochondria. Free radicals are produced, inflammation increases, and excess glucose is stored away in the liver, muscles and fat.”

“If, on the other hand, we contract our muscles as the glucose moves from our intestine to our bloodstream, our mitochondria have a higher, burning capacity. They aren’t overwhelmed as quickly – they are thrilled to use the extra glucose to make ATP to fuel our working muscles.”

“Here is another way to think about it: when we exercise (again just 10 minutes of walking is helpful), we make the fire on our grandfather’s steam train bigger and hotter. Our grandfather shovels coal at a greater speed; the steam train burns it at greater speed. Instead of accumulating, the extra glucose is used up.”

Hack #9 - If you have a snack go savory - Anytime you feel like to need a snack, if you choose to eat something savory instead of sweet or starch then that will lower flatten our glucose curve. She suggests combinations like - Apple slices with nut butter or cheese, baby carrots and humus, hard boiled egg, seeded crackers with a slice of cheese and a slice of ham.

Hack #10 - Put clothes on your carbs - This one is what I have been doing alot - to have a good balance of protein, fat and carbs. So anytime you are going to have a carb - add some fiber, protein, fat to it and that will keep your blood sugar balanced.

These hacks are great and she also tells us at the end of the book about reading food labels as well as helping us walk through a day using a variety of the hacks together. To get the most out of this info - read the book. She has so many good stories many of which I didn't mention during the podcast but help you see how many of her followers as well as hers experience using all these hacks as well. It really has helped her in so many ways. I also mention how my cravings have really gone away. Even when I am at an event with dessert I don't feel like I need it - I can choose or not. I like that alot.