Dhru Purohit Show - The Hidden Habit Draining Your Energy and How to Eat for Better Blood Sugar Control

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi everyone, Drew Prode here. You know, we all want to live well and we want to feel good. And when we break down what that looks like on a day-to-day basis, it really comes down to things like your energy, your ability to focus, your mood, and your overall ability to live up to your highest potential. And there's something that affects all those things and more than you probably realize. And that is extreme glucose spikes, a rollercoaster throughout the day. And if you're listening to this podcast, you've been a fan for a while, you've probably been familiar with the idea that our blood sugar plays an impact on our health. And maybe you've even tracked your own levels and fluctuations with the CGM or continuous

Starting point is 00:00:37 glucose monitor. Or maybe this is all new to you. Either way, this episode will change the way you think about what you eat, how you feel, and how you show up in your life. Today, I'm sharing a portion of my conversation with Jesse and Chapsi, also known as the glucose goddess. Jesse is on a mission to translate cutting-edge science into easy tips to help people improve their physical and mental health. Jesse holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from

Starting point is 00:01:02 King's College London and a master's of science degree in biochemistry from Georgetown University. She's the founder of the glucose goddess movement where she teaches lifestyle food habits to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. And in today's episode, Jesse dives into the topic of breakfast and how what you eat for breakfast may be zapping your energy, especially if you're not getting enough movement in your life. You know, Jesse shares what actually happens in your brain when you're on what she calls the glucose roller coaster. And when you walk away from today's segment from our conversation, you'll have a better understanding of hacks to help you stay clearheaded, energized, and grounded all day long so you can

Starting point is 00:01:42 actually pursue the things in your life that truly matter to you. And one of the things that I'm most excited about that Jesse's going to be talking about today is the connection between movement and glucose absorption. You know, Jesse's approach is all about giving you flexible tools to help your body feel better, not strict rules or one size fits all advice. So if you ever struggle with low energy, irritability, constant snacking, or just feeling disconnected from your own focus and creativity, this episode segment is for you. So let's turn into my conversation with Jesse and Chapsie, the glucose goddess. One of the things that so many people on this podcast have talked about is kind of like how you start the day, how you start the morning sets the tone for the

Starting point is 00:02:27 rest of the day. I've noticed myself right now we're dealing with sort of daylight savings here in the U.S. And we're in a place where a lot of people by not having that hour of sleep that they've lost, I'm seeing with my wife. She's craving more, right? She's, I'm noticing with myself. I went to a workout this morning. I felt a little bit off. So even how we sleep, how, you know, getting that morning light, what we eat in the morning, those things are very important. They set the tone for the day. What have you found, before we get into the hack, when somebody starts off with a traditional starchy breakfast and sweet breakfast, typically what does that look like? And what are the results that stack later on in the day? So the typical sort of glucose-spiking breakfast is the breakfast

Starting point is 00:03:17 that most people eat, which is, you know, cereal, bread, jam, fruit juices, oats, anything that's just starches and sugars. And for most people who have been eating, that way their whole life. And that was me in the past, you know, they don't realize that that breakfast is going to control them for the rest of the day with a glucose spike at breakfast. They're putting a coin into the glucose roller coaster, which is going to make them spike drop, spike drop, spike drop all day. It's going to make them hungry every two hours, craving foods, feeling tired, feeling fatigued. And that's where it comes back to some people just think that's who they are. They just think that they're just somebody who's tired, who's cranky, who has a lot of

Starting point is 00:03:55 cravings, who gets hungry. And actually, when you switch that, when you give to your body a breakfast that does not cause a glucose spike, it's like being in the movie and stepping through the mirror. You have a completely different experience of your day. And today, if you were to tell me, Jesse, okay, today, just have some fun, eat the sweet breakfast. I would not do it because I know now how bad it actually, how badly it impacts how I feel in my whole day. So by switching to a savory breakfast, which is a breakfast built around protein, essentially, and that does not contain anything sweet except some whole fruit for taste if you want, you keep your glucose level steady.

Starting point is 00:04:38 You actually unlock energy from within your cells. You help your mitochondria function better. You feel like awake for the whole day. And by, you know, 12 or whenever lunch comes around, like, you're happy to eat, but you're not famished. You're not feeling controlled by these impulse to just grab anything that's around you and near you. So it's really the pillar of a steady glucose life. And often when people change their breakfast from sweet and starchy to savory, their whole experience of life changes. It's quite remarkable.

Starting point is 00:05:14 Before I even really knew fully about the world of glucose and everything. thing. I just naturally saw myself where I would have this kind of sugary smoothie bomb during my plant-based days. And as I got into the world of functional medicine and got more into healthy protein and all those things like that, I would see just how much more mental clarity. I think that's one of the first things that people notice, that energy and that mental clarity, that you can show up, you could pay attention. And it doesn't feel like this artificial spike up. This time of year, one thing I've been adding to my daily routine is vitamin C, which is critical for our skin. It supports collagen production, immunity, iron absorption, and protection from free radicals.

Starting point is 00:05:56 But quality, like always, is super important. So the vitamin C I've been loving is called Daily Radiance, Liposomal vitamin C. What makes it different is how it's formulated. It combines liposomal vitamin C with black elderberry to support your immune system where it matters most. And your gut. And unlike a lot of other vitamin C supplements that are out there, it's gentle on your stomach. So you don't have to worry about discomfort,

Starting point is 00:06:21 even if you take it on an empty stomach. I've been taking it daily, and it's not only convenient with the single serve packets. It actually tastes pretty good. It has a nice berry flavor. And if you're like me, and you're really wanting to boost your immune support and give a little boost to your skin and cells,

Starting point is 00:06:37 you've got to try daily radiance from peak. Get 20% off for life and explore all of peaks, clean wellness essentials when you go to peaklife.com slash true. That's P-I-Q-U-E-L-I-F-E-E-L-I-F-E-E-P-L-I-F-E-E-E-E-E-E-L-I-F-R-U. Boost your immune system and your glow this fall with Peaks daily radiance liposomal vitamin C. Exactly. And so two things on that. One, when you have sugar and starches at breakfast, you may feel, you may think you're getting energy. What's actually happening is, is that dopamine is getting released in your brain. So you feel like, whoa, you feel awake?

Starting point is 00:07:19 That's not energy. That's dopamine. And afterwards, you just crash. And second, let's talk about that brain clarity, the brain fog. I just read some really interesting papers that show us that one of the main symptoms in the brain of being on a glucose roller coaster is brain fog. Can you guess how the glucose roller coaster is leading to brain fog, Drew? Zalos. Okay.

Starting point is 00:07:43 So every single cell in your body feels the effect of glucose spikes, which are inflammation, glycation, insulin release. And the cells in your brain also feel this impact. The cells in your brain are called neurons. Your neurons, when they're under stress from being on a glucose roller coaster, the speed of the signal between them slows down. Literally, the information in your brain slows down. And that can be felt.

Starting point is 00:08:12 as brain fog, which I find so fascinating because the reason I even got into this whole thing in the first place was because my mental health was out of whack. I felt anxious, depressed, and I had this really intense brain fog. I would just feel like everything around me went from like 3D to 2D. I felt like there was a sort of weird like mesh between me and the world. It felt very, very, very strange. And now, you know, I understand, oh, the more I was having spikes in my diet, the more often that was happening. There was a real correlation. So yes, to come back to what you were saying, when you switch from sweet and start you breakfast to savory breakfast, brain clarity really improves. And as a result, when you're clearer and you have more energy and you feel better, you can be in your purpose more easily.

Starting point is 00:08:58 You can connect with yourself and be like, this is what I want to do today. This is important to me. And you can go after the stuff you really want to go after instead of being a victim to all of these symptoms that you don't know what to do about. Yeah, it's like when you get that dopamine hit from a lot of. of refined starch or sugar, your brain is also kind of on that next dopamine hit of what's going to replace. It's very addictive. And part of what's addicted is also seeing what everybody else is up to and addiction.

Starting point is 00:09:29 I've shared this before, but one of the toughest addictions to get over is the addiction of needing everybody else to tell you what you should pay attention to, what you should focus on, which also includes media. Explain what you mean. So there's a lot of people that have an addiction to not listening to their gut and needing the voice of others, media, social media, whatever, they want to know what's important that day. What should I pay attention to? Everybody else tell me what I should pay attention to. What should I prioritize?

Starting point is 00:10:02 You know, sometimes on Twitter they call it the current thing. What should I be upset about today, right? Tell me what I should be upset about. Tell me what I should be enraged about. Tell me what I, who's the enemy today? Wow. Who's the reason that I'm not able to pursue my dreams and goals in life? And that is an addiction.

Starting point is 00:10:18 And I see when you start off the day with one addiction of sugar and it's a quick dopamine spike. It's kind of like, all right, what's going to give me that next dopamine spike? Well, negativity actually can create a dopamine hit inside of the body. It's like, all right, cool. I know who I should be upset about. Here's who to blame. Here's what the government's doing wrong.

Starting point is 00:10:38 here's what this industry is doing wrong. Let's put the attention on them instead of what do you want to do in your life? What do you want to give love and attention to? What do you want to write? What is that idea you've been sitting on? What does that business you want to create? What is that nonprofit you've been meaning to want to help out with? How do you want to reconnect with your partner or your kids or other stuff that intrinsically

Starting point is 00:10:56 matters to you and is not the priority of somebody else? Wow. Yes. I think one roller coaster causes us to look for the next thing and it's all about taking us out of our body. and it goes back to you sharing when you're more balanced, it's easier to tap into your purpose. And I truly feel that it has all sorts of implications in our life.

Starting point is 00:11:17 And you know, for me and my work now, I know one of the reasons that I've been successful is because my glucose levels are steady and I'm not being controlled by this roller coaster and this chemical stuff happening in my brain where I can really decide what to focus on. And I feel like it gives you your agency back in a way. Instead of just, as you said, like just being a victim

Starting point is 00:11:37 into whatever everybody else or the food industry or the food landscape or how you're eating, whatever everybody else is making you feel and think, you can actually reconnect and be more grounded. Just be like, okay, this is what I actually want to do. And now my brain is clear. I have energy. I feel good. I can do that.

Starting point is 00:11:55 Because often, I think many of us, we want to do the things that we care about. You know, it's that motivation thing. And it's like, yeah, yeah, I want to start that business. Yeah, I want to spend time with my friends and my family. Yeah, I want to do X and Y and Z, but you just don't feel good. So it's really hard to do it. That's true. When you don't feel good, you can't not give love and attention to the things that you want to.

Starting point is 00:12:13 No, no. And you're just looking for dopamine in different things. What does your, I'm jumping ahead a little bit, but in the context of the first hack, what does your movement typical routine look like in a week, even though that's one of the hacks? I'm bringing it up because are there ever times where you find having some carbohydrates in the morning, right? is something that helps you perform better, for example, if you're going to go do immediately something like an intense strength training workout.

Starting point is 00:12:46 Is that something that you've ever noticed? So here's something crazy. Did you know up until the 1990s, chips and fries were cooked in beef tallow? And then big food corporations swapped it out for cheap, highly processed seed oils. Today, seed oils make over 20% of the average Americans' daily calories. And look, I don't think that seeds.

Starting point is 00:13:05 are the enemy or the worst thing in the world. But for some people like myself, we just prefer to avoid them or we don't feel 100% when we have them regularly in our diets. So I'm always looking for better options, especially when it comes to some of those fun foods that you have here and there. That's why I love masa chips. These are tortilla chips with just three clean ingredients, organic corn, sea salt, and 100% grass-fed beef tallow. These aren't your average chips. Massa is crunchier, tastier, and sturdier, no more chips breaking in your guac. And because they're made with beef tallow, you get a snack that leaves you satisfied, light, and energized. And basically doesn't leave you feeling like crap if you eat too many of them. Personally, my go-to flavor is

Starting point is 00:13:49 their habanero flavor. It's bright, zesty, and perfect with guac or salsa. So if you're ready to give Masa a try, go to masa-chips.com slash Drew and use the code Drew for 25% off your first order. That's M-A-S-A-C-H-I-P-S dot com slash Drew, D-H-R-U, and use the code Drew for 25% off your first order. For sure. And, you know, in the savory breakfast hack, carbs are not off limits. Nowhere in this do you have to cut out carbs, but in a savory breakfast, you need to build your breakfast around protein and fat. And then you can add starches and whole fruit if you want for taste.

Starting point is 00:14:28 No problem. They just can't be the center of your breakfast. And in the context of exercising, yeah, of course. course, you need to give your body available glucose. So if you do savory breakfast and then, you know, an hour later you're going to do intense hit training class, like add some starches, add some fruit as much as you feel like you need so that you can get that rapid energy to fuel that workouts. But if you're just, you know, going for a walk, you don't really need to fuel up. But if you're doing something intense, absolutely, it's super important. And so in the method,

Starting point is 00:14:56 it gives you so much flexibility. You can, you know, you can try one of the beautiful recipes in the book, but then you can also just create your own. And I tend to intuitively, you know, just feel how many starches in whole fruit I needed in the morning. So, for example, this morning I really wanted some rice because I have a big day and I have lots of stuff to do it and just felt good to add more of those starches than I usually would. But again, my breakfast was salmon and olive oil and cheese. Like it was built around protein and fat, which is always non-negotiable. Because if I had just rice, I would actually not get the same effect. I would be here and I would be crashing.

Starting point is 00:15:34 So it's protein fat first and then as many starches and whole fruit as you want so that you get to your goals. I was on the rice train this morning too. Yeah, it's a rice day. Three times a week when I go in for my strength training workout, I'm working out with this group up the street called Ultimate Performance. Shout out to them. They're really great. And they're intense strain training. And then you end the sort of workout on this like hit.

Starting point is 00:15:57 And in the beginning, because I was all about like, you know, okay, I don't want. want to have a lot of carbs. I'm not going to have carbs in the morning. You know, this is how I feel best. And then I started to realize, like when I don't have, you know, maybe on the days that I'm working out more heavy, some things. And just like you said, carbs are not off the table. There's no food that's off the table. It's built around these hacks. But when I was under eating on carbs, I would see my performance go down. For sure. I couldn't lift as much. I couldn't pull as much on the deadlift. I couldn't see. And my trainer, Sean was like, you know what? I know you want to eat this way, but like you just got to bring in a little bit more carbs that are here.

Starting point is 00:16:31 Because your muscles, you know, they need glucose for energy. Of course. And if there's circulating glucose available, they're going to be really happy to use it for, you know, explosive power, especially if you're doing explosive kind of work. Yes. If you're running like four-hour marathon, it's going to be a different situation than if you're doing, I don't know, is it an hour? How long is your class?

Starting point is 00:16:50 It's an hour. Yeah. An hour of like explosive training, weightlifting, when you have to bam, bam, bam, like, yeah, of course. Then you definitely need glucose for energy. Otherwise, you're going to feel a bit like, is sluggish. Yeah. And like you said, I still have the fat. You know, I still have like usually like my weight protein, grass-fed weight protein.

Starting point is 00:17:07 Sometimes I'll have a little bit of Greek yogurt. Love. I don't like to eat too much fat before I work out. You know, it's all personal preferences and stuff. But a little bit of protein and a little bit of rice. I literally had weight protein and rice this morning before I went in. Like mixed together? No, no, no, no, no.

Starting point is 00:17:21 Just separate. Yeah, yeah, not mixed together. Okay, okay, okay. I'm not blending rice into my weight protein. I had some weight protein to get my 30 grams, 40 grams of protein to start off the day, had a little bit of rice for that fuel, went in, had a great workout. And still, because I'm working out on the days that I'm eating a little bit more carbohydrates, generally, I don't have a CGM on today, but I've measured it before.

Starting point is 00:17:46 I'm still within the lifestyle following, you know, all these principles here, I'm good and my fasting insulin is good too. Absolutely. And on the topic of muscles, you know, are my, muscles are amazing allies in steadying our glucose levels. And in week four of the glucose gratis method, that's what we start introducing 10 minutes of movement after one meal once a day. Because when your muscles are contracting, again, as you just said, they're going to be using glucose for energy. And so we can use that to our advantage. And that's why the hack asks you

Starting point is 00:18:14 to do 10 minutes of very light movement. It can be like, you know, walking your dog, cleaning your kitchen, or my new favorite, the Seles push up, the calf raises, you know that one? No, say it again? So we do it together. So put your feet on the ground. Okay. And then just do calf raises. So you get onto your tippy toes and back down.

Starting point is 00:18:31 Yeah. And your calf actually contains this muscle called the soleus muscle, which is extra good at soaking up glucose from the bloodstream. So that also counts as 10 minutes of movement if you just don't want to get up and you're at work, for example. I'm a natural fidgeter. So I feel like I'm doing that all day. By the way, shout out to Tessa, who's doing it over there on the side. Yes. Yes.

Starting point is 00:18:52 That also might fall into, have you seen this terminology? I forgot what it stands for. Maybe we could look it up, but neat, right? Like these are the people who are sort of fidgeting all day. Yes. What does it call it? Non-exercise activity, thermo, something? Yeah.

Starting point is 00:19:08 Tesla, can we look that up? Neat. Exercise. Exercise. And we'll look up the meaning. Ah, I got it right. Non-exercise activity, thermogenesis. Thermogenesis.

Starting point is 00:19:18 Is the energy expended for everything we do that's not sleeping, eating, or sport, like exercises. It ranges from the expanded walking to work, typing, performing. So there's some people that are naturally a little bit fidgety during the day. I'm definitely one of them. Like my right leg or left leg is always kind of moving up and down in the form that you talked about. And it could explain why some people are just burning some extra calories throughout the day. Extra glucose. Yeah. So this, they feel like it's just any kind of time where your muscles are using glucose that is not specifically like intentional exercise. Right. So for example, Well, I don't know, maybe right now, you know, as we're talking, my hands are moving and then maybe that would count as well.

Starting point is 00:19:56 Or I walked up the stairs. Maybe that counts. You know, I don't know. Yeah, maybe. It's just your muscles using glucose. Totally. During the day. Totally. And it seems that there are some people that have a little bit more of a neat. Oh, look, include anything from walking the dog, cooking, carrying the shopping home, doing the gardening, playing with your children, washing decor, or even fidgeting at your desk. Fidgeting at your desk. That's you. That's me. Well, that's so interesting. So actually, you know, the week for hack is exactly that. It explains that you can use any of these activities. activities to take advantage of the glucose burning stuff that your muscle does. You can also do intense workout if you want or go ice skating or whatever, but this counts

Starting point is 00:20:32 because this is also going to use up glucose for energy, so also reduce the spike of a meal. Totally. It replicates, you know, what we probably see in a lot of these blue zones that are out there is that people are not going to the gym. And, you know, of course, the blue zones are quickly, you know, like evaporating because those lifestyles are not the same anymore. people are moving out of there, processed food is coming in, you know, all the trappings of Western society. But from what I've seen, those communities are moving around a lot just naturally throughout the day.

Starting point is 00:21:02 Like working out is sort of integrated into their day as sheep farmers and other stuff. And isn't there also something that in blue zones, people are in community a lot? Community, for sure. And to be honest, like the more looking into this, the more it seems so clear that that's a really big determinant of health, you know, having relationships that feel nourishing where you don't feel a little. alone, you feel supported, you feel loved. Yeah, I mean, that's, that's key. Again, glucose is not everything, you know? Yeah, but it's really, it's the methodology that you have established on top of glucose is the larger lifestyle around it. Exactly. So, you know, the glucose hacks in this method, to me, they're the foundation. They're just the foundation of health. If you don't have this under

Starting point is 00:21:42 control, no matter what you do on top, it's just never going to be fully thriving. You need to fix your glucose levels to have any sort of. healthy physical or mental health situation. You just need to because with unsteady glucose levels, so many systems in your body are under stress and you're never going to be fully thriving. So after the four weeks, you know, once you have that under control, then you can start layering stuff. And then you can just have having a lot of fun and feeling really, really good. You know, taking measures to stabilize your blood sugar or to have a more balanced approach instead of an extreme approach, this blood sugar roller coaster that the standard American diet puts

Starting point is 00:22:28 on when we have pharmacological dosages of sugar in our diet. You know, this isn't about meeting certain biomarker standards. It's about the power you have to ensure you're actually showing up fully for your life. Because when your glucose levels are more balanced, which means that they go up and they come down, instead of having that extreme roller coaster that some people have that drives crashes, cravings, and brain fog, you're not constantly looking for that next dopamine mean hit, or you're not constantly struggling with fatigue or low energy or anything else like that. Instead, you can tap into your own natural energy.

Starting point is 00:23:02 Tune into what really matters to you and take aligned action from a grounded place. And yes, all these things can start with something as simple as how you eat your breakfast, getting more movement in the day, and most importantly, long term, which we didn't talk about on this episode, but if you're a fan of this podcast, you know that I've shared that increasing your lean muscle mass, becoming more metabolic. healthy by building more muscle mass so that your body can actually handle more carbohydrates and a diet that has more variety without always needing to feel so worried about your blood sugar. That's also important too.

Starting point is 00:23:36 So all three of those things play a role. Now, if you want to hear more because you enjoyed this episode, check out the full-length episode conversation with Jesse and Chapsie. The link to that is in the show notes below. And in there, she shares more simple hacks for better blood sugar control, as well as her simple glucose goddess recipes. And finally, if this episode resonated with you, please consider sharing it with a friend or loved one.

Starting point is 00:23:58 It might be the nudge that they need to feel more like themselves again. Thanks for tuning in to this week's segment from a previous conversation. I'll see you next time.

Dhru Purohit Show - The Hidden Habit Draining Your Energy and How to Eat for Better Blood Sugar Control

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