Lower Blood Sugar, Without Cutting Carbs

What if a banana could be worse for your blood sugar than a cookie? What if psychological stress could make your body make sugar, pour it into your bloodstream? And what if shining the right light on you after eating could literally lower your blood sugar? Or what if certain medications could make levels of helpful hormones plummet, skyrocketing your blood sugar? I promise these aren't just what-ifs, they're biological facts, and we're going to get into each of them and more in this concise, high-yield video on how to control your blood sugar even independent of carbs., and I promise they just get better and better as we go. So let's go. Here's what's actually happening that I doubt other influencers would have told you. Simply changing the sequence in which you eat can reduce glycemic variability. Stress activates a brain region called the medial amygdala with a direct neural line to the liver. Stress literally makes sugar. I'm getting goosebumps just saying this. Personally, I've even seen bigger blood sugar spikes from from kale than from chocolate. I know, what the fuck? And quickly, if you want all the references for the papers we're going to go over in the written version, you can see the letter linked in the video notes. But with that, let's roll. Literally. Number 1, tip number 1 is to take a postprandial after-eating stroll. This one is simple but powerful and not just wellness hype. Go for a walk after a meal. Activating large muscle groups like your glutes and your quads literally increase— I'm saying that word too much, sorry— increases glucose receptor, specifically GLUT4, on your muscles through an insulin-independent pathway, meaning it's not dependent on insulin. In effect, your muscles contract and this forces GLUT4 receptors out of intracellular storage to the surface of the muscle where they can gobble up glucose out of the bloodstream. And for those who want the more technical definition, And brace yourself, I hope I'm not scaring everybody else off, here's what's actually happening that I doubt other influencers would have told you. During exercise, energy metabolism changes to activate an enzyme called AMPK. AMPK triggers the phosphorylation or molecular tagging of another protein called TBC1D4, which stands for "to be continued one day for sure," coincidentally the motto of legions of new gym-goers who in February quit their New Year's resolution to exercise. I'm joking. Was that joke too mean? I don't know. I thought it was fun. Anyway, seriously, this AMPK-TBC1D4 pathway drives the movement of these GLUT4 receptors to the muscle cell surface. What this results in is greater glucose uptake into the muscle. And as a metabolic bonus, exercise also increases insulin sensitivity of muscles and boosts nitric oxide production. Which enhances blood flow and nutrient delivery to the working muscles. This includes glucose flow. So in effect, your muscles act like glucose sponges. And since they account for about 80% of the glucose uptake in your body, even a 15 to 30 minute walk to unlock your muscle's potential to take up glucose can flatten a post-meal spike and help you maintain energy levels throughout the day. Kind of cool, right? Moving on. Number 2: Get the right light exposure. Research shows that red light can lower blood glucose, red and infrared light. They can penetrate the body, the skin, get to the muscle, and influence mitochondrial function and energy utilization. The physiology is quite complex and really fascinating. If you want more of a deep dive, you can see my red light and muscles video. But the practical point is this: appropriate light exposure can keep your blood glucose steady. You can use infrared therapy if you want, and I'll tell you what I use in the video notes, but Even just trying to get an hour of natural sunlight per day is a great start. Moving on, 3. Pregame your carbs if you eat them with proteins and fats. Macronutrient order really matters. If you eat a buttered steak with broccoli and a baked sweet potato, having the steak and broccoli first and the potato after leads to a much smoother blood sugar level than the reverse. So for example, in one crossover human study, participants consumed identical meals all 628 calories, 55 grams of protein, 68 grams of carbs, and 16 grams of fat, but they did so on two separate days spaced by a week. And when the protein and vegetables were eaten first, total blood sugar spike as measured by area under the curve increase was reduced by 73% compared with eating the same foods in the reverse order, i.e., carbs first. So simply changing the sequence in which you eat can reduce glycemic variability, and this also gives some wisdom to why dessert is eaten last. Okay, moving on. 4. Try out a continuous glucose monitor or CGM. These are over the counter now. CGMs are excellent for revealing the personal food response, the difference between you and me. Multiple famous studies have shown just how variable this response can be. There's the famous banana versus cookie figure from a landmark 2015 paper in Cell with over 3,000 academic citations. —remarkable work from the lab of Professor Michael Snyder at Stanford. And personally, I've even seen bigger blood sugar spikes from kale than from chocolate. I know, what the f— fiber? Well, remember, it's not just about fat, fiber, and sugar in the food. Even your individual inflammatory response to different foods can strongly shape your genetic— not your genetic, your glycemic curve. The foods don't change your genetics, let's be clear on that. Anyway, moving on. 5. Know your medications. Some drugs directly influence blood sugar. Statins, for example, are associated with long-term increases in average blood sugar as measured by HbA1c, while GLP-1 medications reduce blood sugar. Now, I'm not advocating for or against either medication, I'm just pointing out that pharmacology can play a role in glycemic control. It should be obvious, but again, it is worth highlighting. And it's worth knowing how your prescriptions interact with metabolism. And just now as a quick tangent and community celebration, I do need to point out how powerful all of you are, and I'm not talking about your muscles, although I'm sure they're great. So a tangent. A little while ago, I did a video, hopefully you saw it, on what I called the most underrated study of 2024. It was a human-controlled trial showing that statin drugs significantly reduced the hormone GLP-1 slashed the levels in half, and I was so stunned that no doctors or cardiologists I talked to seemed to be aware of this research, and I felt these are relevant data that should be disclosed to patients to facilitate informed consent. It turned out that that video and related content spread like wildfire. It was picked up by major media outlets and inspired other creators to cover the content. And as of the time I'm recording this, this is September 10th, 2025 as I record this, That paper has— well, it was largely unnoticed for over a year and a half. It's now on Cell Metabolism's most read list. So the TL;DR: your passion and your curiosity— I'm getting goosebumps just saying this— it helps decide what gets spotlighted by academic medicine. Cell Metabolism is a big journal, and your enthusiasm put this paper at the top of the read list after it went unnoticed for over a year and a half. So stay curious, it really makes a difference. Thank you. Well, with that, moving on. Number 6: Allulose. This is fructose's odd but lovely cousin. Allulose is a rare natural sugar. I call it a cousin of fructose. It's similar in structure, but unlike fructose, it has negligible calories and doesn't spike blood sugar. In fact, in a human randomized controlled trial, allulose smooths the glycemic curve in response to normal sugar. Not only does allulose alone leave blood sugar flat or decrease, but when combined with sugar, it blunts the spike you'd otherwise see. The mechanisms may include slowing gastric emptying, changing GLP-1 physiology, or competition for uptake of sugar, in particular fructose, in the gut. One caution I'd add is that at high doses, allulose can cause an osmotic effect. So, be careful, don't chug a cup of it. But it's quite useful, you can use it in a 1:1 substitution with normal sugar, and again, it blunts the glycemic response to other carbs. Finally, 7, practicing breathing exercises and meditation can help lower blood sugar. Oh, but I said 7 was groundbreaking. Well, let me elaborate. Mind-body practices, like controlled breathing, can help reduce blood sugar, but the how is very interesting. Recent basic science research shows that stress activates a brain region called the medial amygdala with a direct neural line to the liver. It alters gene expression by triggering sugar production. This bypasses the usual hormonal suspects like cortisol and adrenaline and instead sends a direct wire, brain right to liver, to make sugar now, synthesize new sugar now. So in short, stress literally—last time I'll use that word—makes sugar. It's pretty incredible. For a deep dive, see this new science. It actually blew my mind. And the technology they used to prove this causal cascade is crazy, like glowy, glowy viruses that you can inject into the liver and then they go up a nerve, a neuron, to the brain. You can see the signal in the brain. The science is amazing, but the punchline is simple: stress reduction practices can stop your body from making extra sugar that can cause metabolic dysfunction. Pretty freaking cool, right? With that, thank you for your curiosity, and check out the letter for all the references. And if you want more in-depth on this topic, check out this interview with Stanford's legendary Professor Michael Snyder on this channel. I learned so much, and I promise you will as well. And you may never see grapes and potatoes the same way again. So stay curious and stay sugar stable. Thanks.