The Diary of a CEOJessie Inchauspé: How tiny food hacks flatten glucose spikes
Inchauspé says most people spike glucose daily, fueling cravings and aging: a savory breakfast and slower order of food at meals quietly flatten the curve.
CHAPTERS
- 12:00 – 35:00
Glucose 101: Why Spikes Quietly Damage Your Body
Jessie explains what glucose is, which foods raise it, and why spikes matter even if you don’t have diabetes. She unpacks the three core processes behind spike damage: mitochondrial overload, internal ‘cooking’ (glycation), and insulin-driven fat storage and insulin resistance.
- •Starches (bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, oats) and sugars (sweet foods, juice) are chains or units of glucose that rapidly raise blood sugar.
- •Big, frequent spikes—common even in non-diabetics—drive chronic fatigue by overwhelming mitochondria and generating inflammatory free radicals.
- •Glycation is the browning/cooking of proteins in the body; every spike accelerates internal aging, from skin wrinkles to cartilage and organs.
- •Insulin stores excess glucose in liver, muscle, then fat cells; repeated spikes and high insulin lead toward insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
- •More muscle mass improves glucose disposal, so muscular people tolerate the same carb load better than those with less muscle.
- 35:00 – 1:06:00
Hidden Sugar, Misleading Health Halos, and Sweeteners
The conversation turns to surprising spike-inducing foods and the myth of ‘good sugar.’ Jessie contrasts whole fruit with juices and smoothies, explains why modern fruit is unnaturally sweet, and evaluates different artificial and natural sweeteners.
- •Grapes and honey are major spike offenders despite their ‘natural’ image; modern fruit has been bred for maximal sweetness.
- •Juices and smoothies remove or pulverize fiber, effectively becoming sugar water similar to soda in glycemic impact.
- •Sucrose (table sugar) is half glucose, half fructose; fructose tastes sweet but doesn’t spike glucose much, masking total sugar load.
- •There is no metabolic distinction between sugar from cake vs. fruit smoothies, honey, agave, or maple syrup—same molecules, same spikes.
- •Non-nutritive sweeteners like stevia, monk fruit, and allulose don’t spike glucose and are preferable to real sugar, whereas aspartame and sucralose have more concerning data but still spike less than sugar.
- 1:06:00 – 1:26:00
Hormones, Fertility, PCOS, Skin, and Aging
Jessie connects glucose and insulin dynamics to visible aging, skin conditions, and reproductive health. She describes how insulin resistance underlies many PCOS cases and how stabilizing glucose can reverse symptoms and restore fertility in some women.
- •High glucose and insulin correlate with higher rates of heart disease, dementia, depression, and other age-related diseases.
- •Every spike increases glycation, aging skin faster (wrinkles) and damaging internal tissues; many cosmetics target glycation from the outside, but diet changes tackle it from within.
- •Inflammatory skin conditions like acne, eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea often flare with glucose-driven inflammation from spikes.
- •Around 60% of PCOS cases involve insulin resistance; high insulin signals ovaries to overproduce testosterone, driving acne, hair issues, and menstrual disruption.
- •Jessie’s 4‑hack method helped some women in her study regain periods and conceive within a month by stabilizing glucose and lowering insulin.
- 1:26:00 – 1:37:00
The Four Core Glucose Hacks and 4‑Week Experiment
Jessie lays out her four most impactful hacks—savory breakfast, daily vinegar, veggie starters, and post-meal movement—and describes results from a 2,700‑person global trial. Participants added these habits without cutting any specific foods.
- •Hack 1: Savory breakfast (protein + fat, no sweet foods or drinks) prevents a day-long rollercoaster of spikes, crashes, and cravings.
- •Hack 2: 1 tablespoon vinegar in water before the biggest carb-heavy meal reduces glucose and insulin spikes by up to ~30%.
- •Hack 3: Eat vegetables first at meals; fiber lines the intestine, forming a mesh that slows glucose absorption and flattens spikes.
- •Hack 4: Move 10 minutes after meals (walk, chores, calf raises); contracting muscles, especially the soleus, rapidly soak up glucose for energy.
- •In the 4‑week experiment, ~90% reported fewer cravings and more energy; roughly 40% of those wanting to lose weight did, despite no calorie targets.
- 1:37:00 – 2:03:00
Glucose, Cravings, Discipline, Mood, and Relationships
The discussion shifts to how glucose stability shapes behavior, habits, and relationships. Jessie explains how spikes hijack the brain’s craving circuitry, influence mood, and even correlate with marital irritation in a whimsical voodoo-doll study.
- •Glucose crashes strongly activate the brain’s craving center, making willpower battles against sugar almost unwinnable.
- •Dopamine from sugar creates short-term ‘fake energy,’ while mitochondria are simultaneously being stressed and fatigued.
- •Exercise, especially intense sessions, can help break multi-day sugar cycles by providing alternative dopamine sources and depleting muscle glycogen.
- •A study with married couples and voodoo dolls found that more variable/low glucose events correlated with more ‘pins’ (irritation) toward spouses.
- •Jessie argues glucose stability supports discipline, consistent focus, and the ability to show up as the person you want to be.
- 2:03:00 – 2:10:00
Beyond the Core Four: Ten Glucose Hacks and Food Order
Building on the core protocol, Jessie outlines all 10 hacks and emphasizes the power of food order and carb ‘clothing.’ She shows how traditional pairings (grapes and cheese, rice and beans) and simple sequencing drastically change glucose outcomes without changing menus.
- •Food order: veggies first, then protein and fat, then starches and sugars can cut a meal’s spike by up to ~75%.
- •“Clothes on carbs”: never eat starches/sugars naked—add fat, protein, or fiber (e.g., bread with avocado, cake with Greek yogurt).
- •Have sweets as dessert after a balanced meal instead of on an empty stomach to reduce their impact.
- •Choose savory snacks between meals (nuts, cheese, eggs) over sweet snacks to avoid mid-day spikes.
- •Always eat fruit whole, not juiced, dried, or blended, to preserve fiber’s protective effect.
- •Jessie’s Instagram graphs are illustrative examples built on peer-reviewed studies, not n=1 biohacking claims.
- 2:10:00 – 2:42:00
Kids, Parenting, and the Early Metabolic Environment
Steven asks how parents should think about sugar for children. Jessie stresses that early high-glucose diets are already driving type 2 diabetes in kids and encourages parents to see sugary convenience foods as akin to cigarettes—something you can say no to.
- •Type 2 diabetes, once an adult disease, now appears in children as young as five due to high-sugar diets.
- •Common practices like giving kids orange juice or sugary cereals for breakfast create big spikes, behavior swings, and tantrums.
- •Jessie urges parents not to cave just because children ‘beg’ for cereal; she compares it to not handing them cigarettes.
- •Modelling matters: if parents eat cereal and juice, kids will dismiss their advice; if home is mostly water and whole foods, kids internalize those norms.
- •Parents who adopt glucose hacks often feel calmer and more resilient, which makes boundary-setting with kids easier.
- 2:42:00 – 3:07:00
Vinegar, Visceral Fat, and the Anti-Spike Formula
Jessie demonstrates the vinegar hack live and introduces her supplement ‘Anti-Spike Formula,’ based on lemon-derived eriocitrin and mulberry leaf extract. She explains how these ingredients naturally boost GLP‑1 and block a portion of glucose absorption.
- •Vinegar’s acetic acid partially inactivates digestive enzymes (‘little scissors’), slowing the breakdown of starch into glucose and blunting spikes.
- •Proper dilution (1 tbsp in a large glass of water) protects tooth enamel; avoid sweetened ‘vinegar drinks.’
- •Vinegar has evidence for improving visceral fat, cholesterol, glucose, and insulin, but it’s an adjunct, not a cure-all.
- •Visceral fat—hard belly fat between organs—is more dangerous than pinchable subcutaneous fat; vinegar and glucose control help reduce it.
- •Jessie’s Anti-Spike Formula uses eriocitrin (from lemons) to gently boost natural GLP‑1 and DNJ (from mulberry leaf) to block up to ~40% of carb-derived glucose absorption, while leaving proteins and micronutrients intact.
- 3:07:00 – 3:36:00
GLP‑1 Drugs, Food Systems, and The Sugar Economy
The conversation zooms out to the societal level: GLP‑1 drugs like Ozempic, industry incentives, and the ‘sugar economy.’ Jessie and Steven discuss why our environment almost guarantees overconsumption and how this isn’t a cartoonish conspiracy so much as misaligned incentives.
- •GLP‑1, naturally made in the gut, signals satiety and helps handle glucose; GLP‑1 drugs massively amplify this, zapping appetite and lowering glucose.
- •Drug-induced weight loss often includes ~40% muscle loss; when medications stop, ~70% of lost weight tends to return mostly as fat, leaving people metabolically worse off unless they lift weights and eat protein.
- •Jessie sees GLP‑1’s popularity as evidence that the food environment is so toxic we need drugs just to resist it.
- •Food companies optimize sugar content for maximum sales (e.g., ~42g per soda), driven by shareholder incentives, not overt evil intent.
- •She imagines systemic solutions like sugar caps in products, better education that labels any added sugar as ‘dessert,’ and improved access to real food.
- 3:36:00 – 4:14:00
Glucose, Depression, Sleep, Coffee, and Menopause
Jessie highlights emerging links between insulin resistance and depression, and how dinner spikes impair restorative sleep and drive morning hunger. They also discuss caffeine, individual sensitivity, and how menopause worsens glucose responses but can be partly mitigated with diet.
- •A 10‑year study of 300 people found those who developed insulin resistance were almost twice as likely to develop major depression.
- •Going to bed after a big dinner spike can reduce deep, restorative sleep and intensify morning hunger.
- •Sleep deprivation worsens glucose handling and cravings the next day, creating a vicious cycle.
- •Black coffee alone can cause glucose spikes in some people via stress-mediated responses; drinking it after breakfast instead of before halves that spike in one study.
- •Jessie quit coffee and noticed easier sleep onset and more even energy; she suspects coffee can disconnect people from feeling grounded, even if population studies show net benefits.
- •Post-menopause, the same foods cause higher spikes; reducing sugars and applying glucose hacks can ease symptoms like hot flashes and insomnia.
- 4:14:00
Mindset, Motivation, and a Cab Driver’s Message
In the closing section, Jessie reflects on burnout, public scrutiny, and purpose. She recounts a powerful moment when a London cab driver, unprompted, told her that whatever she was doing was important—an affirmation that helped her continue her work.
- •Public attention and criticism have been emotionally challenging; Jessie copes by limiting what she reads and focusing on impact.
- •She frames her work as translating complex science into simple, sexy, accessible tools that genuinely help people change.
- •A stranger’s spontaneous encouragement in a taxi felt, to her, like a message from the universe at a moment she considered quitting.
- •Steven and Jessie reflect on the disproportionate impact a few kind words can have on someone’s life trajectory—and, by extension, on public health.
- •Jessie reiterates she wants to become ‘irrelevant’—for her hacks to become so widely known that personal and systemic change make her platform unnecessary.
