Blood sugar monitors becomes latest WELLNESS trend!

Is there a benefit for healthy people to track their blood sugar?

Measuring blood sugar has joined sleep and exercise tracking as wellness trends, with some longevity experts claiming that reducing fluctuations throughout the day can help protect against heart disease, even for people who don’t have diabetes.

Continuous glucose monitors, or CGMs, are small devices that track blood sugar in real time and can tell wearers how their bodies are reacting to stress, food, sleep or exercise. New versions attach to a user’s arm and can pair with a smartphone to give blood sugar readings throughout the day. CGMs, which the Food and Drug Administration first approved in 1999, have traditionally been prescribed only to patients with diabetes.

More recently, the FDA has approved two blood sugar monitors for over-the-counter use, making them available to anyone without prescriptions. As a result, people who don’t have diabetes are increasingly promoting them on social media sites like Reddit to help with weight loss or to monitor the benefits of exercise.

Shannon Sackley, 30, a Realtor in Los Angeles, doesn’t have diabetes but has been wearing a blood sugar tracker for a couple of months after having watched a friend with diabetes use one.

“I think it’s exciting and it’s just amazing that you can see how food affects your body,” she said. “I think it’s really valuable to have.”