How Long Does It Take to Stabilize Blood Sugar?

Hey, J.J. here. Can you believe how fast the holidays are knocking at the door this year? One minute it's pumpkin spice season, the next you're getting your guest room ready and wondering where their wrapping paper went. And that's when I turned to Wayfair. From bedding and towels to holiday decor and last minute stocking stuffers, Wayfair has everything you need to get your home and holidays together fast. And for way less. With Wayfair, I know I can refresh my guest room in no time. Maybe I'll add a soft new comforter or a few holiday throw pillows. With Wayfair, it's so easy and everything arrives super fast. Plus, there's free shipping for any order over $35 easy and total peace of mind. So whether you're hosting, gifting, or just adding those final festive touches, Wayfair has your back. And when the holidays wind down, Wayfair has everything you need to tuck it all neatly away. Smart storage solutions for every room from the kitchen to the closet. Get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. Wayfair Every style, every home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I R.com hey, it's JJ here. You know, I've been talking about environmental toxins forever, and laundry detergent is a sneaky one. A lot of them contain harsh chemicals like dyes, preservatives, and even UV brighteners. Those brighteners don't actually clean anything. They just coat fabric so your eyes think things look whiter or brighter. That's more chemicals I don't want on my family's sheets or skin. And if you've got sensitive skin or allergies around the house, this can be a big problem. That's what got my attention about Earth Breeze. It looks like a dryer sheet, but it's actually laundry detergent. You toss one in the washer and that's it. No pouring, no mess, and no heavy plastic jug. Their packaging is lightweight cardboard, which helps reduce plastic waste. And if you choose the fragrance free option, it's gentle, hypoallergenic, non irritating and non sensitizing. I really like how simple it is and how fresh and clean everything comes out without those unnecessary chemicals. Right now you can try Earth Breeze for up to 40% off with free gifts@earthbreeze.com virgin that's earthbreeze.com virgin for up to 40% off plus free gifts on your first order saving on your education.

Should be a right, not a competition. At University of Phoenix, you'll get the best scholarship or savings you qualify for. Simple as that. Explore scholarship options at University of Phoenix How Long Does It Take to Stabilize Blood Sugar? This is JJ Virgin, four time New York Times best selling author, celebrity nutrition expert, and Fitness hall of Famer. I've been on a lifelong quest for answers to the toughest health questions and now I'm sharing what I found with you. Welcome to Ask the health expert. Deep24 from Instagram asks how long does it take to stabilize blood sugar? Days? Weeks? I've been eating by the plate and stretching time between meals help. I'll be right back to answer that question.

Hey JJ Virgin here. Okay, real talk. So often the holidays sneak up on me. Travel, gifts, hosting, you know, all the things and suddenly it's like, wait, who spent what and where? And I know I'm not the only one who's looked at a bill in January and thought, wow, that escalated quickly. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch. It's rated the Wall Street Journal's best budgeting app of 2025. Monarch is the all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean on your laptop or on your phone. Monarch lets you link everything and gives you real time visibility so you're not shocked later. Right now, I've been checking the holiday spending category so I don't accidentally start the new year with that dreaded debt hangover. And honestly, just seeing everything laid out is already helping me stay more aware. This season, Monarch does the heavy lifting. It links your accounts in minutes, gives you smart categorization and super clear visuals. Yes, that end of year reset could be a real goal. This time, don't let financial opportunities slip through the cracks. Use the code virgin@monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year@monarch.com with.

The code Virgin Ray Ban Meta glasses come with open ear audio so you can listen to your favorite music without blocking out the world around you.

Hey Meta, Play Gorgeous.

Here's Gorgeous by Doja Cat.

You can also ask Meta AI questions.

Hey Meta, when's Doja Cat's next concert?

Doja Cat is playing at the Los Angeles Theater next Tuesday.

Sweet Ray Ban Meta Glasses available at Ray Ban stores and other authorized retailers.

So how long does it take to stabilize blood sugar? Well, you're going to love this answer. It depends. I know but it does depend and depends on a variety of things. So the first things we want to do is focus on all the things that we can control. First off, as you said, you were eaten by the plate. Yay. That's a great first start. And when we talk about eating by the plate, here's what we mean. It's either eating by the virgin diet or the sugar impact diet plate. If you are working on your blood sugar, the one I really recommend is the sugar impact diet and eating by that plate, which means that at every meal you're getting some clean, lean protein. That could be some of my protein powder. It could be grass fed beef, wild salmon, pastured chicken, some healthy fats, things like avocado or olive oil or raw nuts and seeds, and then fiber from non starchy vegetables, lots and lots of those and little bits of slow, low carbs, things like squash or wild rice or sweet potato. All right, so that's step one. Why do we tell you step one to eat that way? Why am I saying that? Because that helps balance your blood sugar naturally, especially the fiber, which is going to reduce that blood sugar curve. But all those things together, the protein, the fat and the fiber, help you have a steady, slow release of blood sugar rather than a big spike and drop. So that's step one. Next up, you want to start looking at things that can make you more insulin resistant or make you more glucose intolerant so that your blood sugar is not as stable. So one of the key important things here is vitamin D. Vitamin D is super important for having good insulin sensitivity. So make sure that you are optimizing your vitamin D levels. Take a vitamin D3 test, that's a 25 hydroxy vitamin D test and you want to optimize your levels between 50 and 80 ngs per ML per nl. And you, unless you're on a blood thinner, going to want to take that with vitamin K1 and 2. So you take D3 with vitamins K1 and 2. So that's number one, optimize your vitamin D levels. And ideally we want to be making vitamin D from sunshine, but depending on where we live or our genetics or our skin color, we probably are going to need to supplement with it. So that's step one. Step two is make sure that you get really, really good sleep because just one poor night of sleep and you're more insulin resistant. So sleep is super critical to getting to having a good blood sugar response. So this is where you really want to track your sleep and focus on making sure you're getting quality sleep, not just quantity sleep, that you're getting the right amount of both deep sleep and REM sleep. Next is to do some resistance training. One of the first places you can become more insulin sensitive, which then means you have better blood sugar response is in your muscles. So resistance training is super important to having a good blood sugar response. Next, one stress. Stress is key here because stress can raise blood sugar. So make sure that you're doing what you need to do to manage your stress. Can't often fix the situation, especially if you're listening to this during COVID 19, but we can change our responses to it. So some of the things that I really like to manage stress are either high intensity interval training, tapping. Shout out to my buddy Nick Ortner from the tapping solution. They created an app that you can find on the app store for free. And then meditation. Shout out there to my girl, Emily Fletcher of Ziva. Meditation. Amazing. So there's another key important one. Now here's one you probably don't hear about very often. And it is your gut microbiome. And this is really fascinating. What they found was that people who were using an artificial sweetener, and I believe the one was Splenda, that within one week of using an artificial sweetener, you actually changed your gut microbiome, the bacteria in your gut, to be more glucose intolerant, which means you're going to have a worse poor blood sugar response. So lose the artificial sweeteners. There is no planet that the artificial sweeteners, you know, not on our planet. They were a bad science experiment. Experiment. That doesn't mean you can't use the natural ones, which would be things like stevia monk fruit allulose. But avoid those artificial sweeteners out there because they disrupt your gut microbiome and they can make you more glucose intolerant. So those are some of the key things that you want to do. Start with that food. But then let's start to look at the things like stress, sleep, exercise, vitamin D optimization, losing artificial sweeteners, that can really help too. And two more little hacks that can help. Number one is lemon juice. Having a couple tablespoons of lemon juice before your meal so you can do my cravings crusher fat burning lemonade, which is a couple tablespoons of lemon juice, little bit of stevia monk fruit or my virgin sprinkles and then a little bit of glutamine. It can be fantastic. Lemon juice can lower your blood sugar response to a meal. So can cinnamon. And who doesn't love cinnamon so throw some cinnamon cinnamon on your sweet potato. Have a little half of a sweet potato and that can help as well. This is JJ with Ask the Health Expert. I do this five times a week, so make sure you never miss a show by going to subscribetojay.com.

FOREIGNERS this is Anne Bogle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week I check all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately, and I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years, and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment. Whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change, or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything, you'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and visit our website what Should I read next podcast.com to find out more.