{"id":46090,"date":"2017-03-07T08:34:19","date_gmt":"2017-03-07T13:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090"},"modified":"2017-03-07T09:26:34","modified_gmt":"2017-03-07T14:26:34","slug":"why-would-people-without-diabetes-monitor-their-blood-sugar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090","title":{"rendered":"Why Would People Without Diabetes Monitor Their Blood Sugar?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month, Gizmodo<\/a> published a story about Sano Intelligence, a healthcare startup that is making a continuous glucose tracker that sticks to a user\u2019s skin and monitors blood sugar elevations through a mobile app. The news Gizmodo<\/a> wanted to make a point of is that Sano plans to market the product to people without diabetes. If you\u2019re wondering what the tech publication thought of it, their headline says it all: Nobody Needs This Silicon Valley-Made Blood Sugar Tracker.<\/p>\n

My first instinct was also that it sounded ridiculous and in my head I poked fun: \u2018Ooh, look what this slice of pizza does to my blood sugar. Cool!\u2019 I couldn\u2019t imagine why anyone with normal body functions would want to be privy to their short-term spikes and dips. It appeared that Sano was taking short cuts. Instead of focusing on changing the lives of people with diabetes, the company was looking to make a quick buck. (Quick in medical-device land is still far from quick.)<\/p>\n

After my initial reactionary response, I spent time thinking about why anyone would want to be tethered to physical updates like those of us with diabetes (myself included). Are people without diabetes curious to learn more about their deeper metabolic functions? And, is it worth it to those of us with diabetes to keep an eye on new product launches like the one from Sano Intelligence<\/a>?<\/p>\n

But first, what is it? The Sano tracker is a small stick-on sensor that feels like a piece of Velcro. It\u2019s covered in \u201chundreds of tiny microstructures that are less than half a mm in length,\u201d says Ashwin Pushpala, CEO of Sano Intelligence. The daily-use patch goes into the skin with the help of an applicator and is far less invasive than the Libre or other CGMs currently on the market. Pushpala hopes to have it available later this year.<\/p>\n

Going this route, as a lifestyle-enhancement tool versus a diagnostic one used to make insulin-dosing decisions, allows the startup to get to market quicker and instead of a rigorous FDA approval, it can apply for a simpler form of regulatory sign off for what the FDA considers to be a \u201clow-risk device.\u201d This category refers to technology that\u2019s intended \u201cto promote, track, and\/or encourage choice(s) which, as part of a healthy lifestyle, may help living well with certain chronic diseases or conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, there are no solutions on the market that provide a painless, discreet, or affordable way for people with pre-diabetes to monitor their glucose levels to make more informed diet and exercise choices. We feel very strongly that we want to build a product that fits their needs,\u201d says Pushpala.<\/p>\n

With type 2 diabetes on the rise\u2013\u2013undiagnosed and diagnosed\u2013\u2013and vast numbers categorized with pre-diabetes (some say 50% of Americans)<\/a>, it\u2019s reason enough to view what Sano is planning as potentially good for everyone. This population needs a simpler tech solution that they can adopt with minor inconveniences. The once-a-day patch from Sano could be the answer, and even if it isn\u2019t, who are we to say it shouldn\u2019t be attempted? Sano gets a return on years of research, a larger pool of consumers to sell to and it avoids lengthy clinical trials and years of red tape.<\/p>\n

While I was considering this idea of a world of people wearing glucose trackers, I reached out to Geoffrey Woo, CEO and co-founder of Nootrobox<\/a>, a nootropics-based startup located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Woo started his company with a desire to improve cognition. His goal: to grow more neurons in the brain. \u201cThere was a misperception that you couldn\u2019t grow new ones,\u201d says Woo.<\/p>\n

Much like vitamins, nootropics\u2014smart drugs or cognitive enhancers\u2013\u2013has both believers and naysayers. Early adopters that have warmed to this field call themselves biohackers and they\u2019re looking to re-engineer their bodies to be smarter, more creative and more alert. One of the ways they do this is by obsessively watching their intake of food.<\/p>\n

\"Why<\/p>\n

How do we watch our body\u2019s reaction to food? By wearing a CGM. Woo wears an Abbott FreeStyle Libre<\/a> and loves it. \u201cYou\u2019re more thoughtful in your biometrics,\u201d says Woo. Woo\u2019s goal is to track his mental clarity\u2013\u2013where he is at a normal state and how he can get to an enhanced state. \u201cWhy do you crash after a big meal?\u201d asks Woo. By tracking his meals Woo feels that he can refer back to the \u201ctruth,\u201d which will enforce good behavior.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all know a Coke, fries and hamburger aren\u2019t good for us, but seeing my blood sugar spike to 13.4 (241) is like, \u2018That\u2019s an insane jump!\u2019\u201d says Woo. For help in understanding his body\u2019s mechanics, Woo has Dr. Manual Lam, Nootrobox\u2019 science and clinical lead. Lam also works at a hospital in Palo Alto, and is a believer in many of the things that Woo holds dear, namely our ability to re-boot our bodies at a cellular level.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of chronic diseases are due to nutrition and diet. It\u2019s funny that doctors are the ones teaching it and we\u2019ve only gotten four weeks of nutrition or one semester of biochemistry,\u201d says Lam. As a hospitalist at a government funded hospital, Lam sees a wide range of sick patients, including those with type 2 diabetes. \u201cI think there are some fundamental principles that have been propagated,\u201d says Lam. \u201cIf we\u2019re all doing the right thing, why is there an increase in obesity and diabetes?\u201d<\/p>\n

While Nootrobox, which currently doesn\u2019t market anything for people with diabetes, wasn\u2019t able to get funding on a recent episode of \u201cShark Tank<\/a>,\u201d the company is growing. It might take time for nootropics to go mainstream, but its believers, those who want to gain valuable insights into their bodies, could be the first wave in diabetes tools gaining traction\u2014even with those of us with diabetes.<\/p>\n

Sano Intelligence is committed to casting a wide net with its technology. \u201cOur beta release that we are targeting for later this year is step one,\u201d says Pushpala. \u201cAs we continue to test and conduct clinical trials, we are absolutely taking all the steps necessary for FDA approval of future device designs that will target the diabetic market.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

If the increased attraction in specialty diets like Whole30, Ketogenic and Paleo are any example, it won\u2019t be long before more people are embracing what were previously considered to be tools for people with diabetes. \u201cI use [the Libre] all the time, it\u2019s important to have a visual reminder. Everyone is going to be diabetic or obese and we need more tools to help us. A CGM is a good alarm clock to pull us back,\u201d says Woo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232,"featured_media":46102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1437],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Would People Without Diabetes Monitor Their Blood Sugar? | ASweetLife<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sano Intelligence, a healthcare startup that is making a continuous glucose tracker that sticks to a user\u2019s skin and monitors blood sugar elevations through a mobile app.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Larissa Zimberoff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090\",\"name\":\"Why Would People Without Diabetes Monitor Their Blood Sugar? | ASweetLife\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/why-would-people-without-diabetes-monitor-their-blood-sugar.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-03-07T13:34:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-03-07T14:26:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/66727059a59313c4f549beae0c1fceb1\"},\"description\":\"Sano Intelligence, a healthcare startup that is making a continuous glucose tracker that sticks to a user\u2019s skin and monitors blood sugar elevations through a mobile app.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/why-would-people-without-diabetes-monitor-their-blood-sugar.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/why-would-people-without-diabetes-monitor-their-blood-sugar.jpeg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Why Would People Without Diabetes Monitor Their Blood Sugar?\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why Would People Without Diabetes Monitor Their Blood Sugar?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/66727059a59313c4f549beae0c1fceb1\",\"name\":\"Larissa Zimberoff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c4b44e0f01d6c2d24be23341f293e3fe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c4b44e0f01d6c2d24be23341f293e3fe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Larissa Zimberoff\"},\"description\":\"Larissa Zimberoff was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 12-years old. She is an avid cyclist and a passionate supporter of bike lanes, free WiFi and the Affordable Care Act. She lives in New York City and writes about the intersection of food and technology. You can follow her on Twitter or read more of her published work\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=232\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Would People Without Diabetes Monitor Their Blood Sugar? | ASweetLife","description":"Sano Intelligence, a healthcare startup that is making a continuous glucose tracker that sticks to a user\u2019s skin and monitors blood sugar elevations through a mobile app.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Larissa Zimberoff","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090","name":"Why Would People Without Diabetes Monitor Their Blood Sugar? | ASweetLife","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/why-would-people-without-diabetes-monitor-their-blood-sugar.jpeg","datePublished":"2017-03-07T13:34:19+00:00","dateModified":"2017-03-07T14:26:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/66727059a59313c4f549beae0c1fceb1"},"description":"Sano Intelligence, a healthcare startup that is making a continuous glucose tracker that sticks to a user\u2019s skin and monitors blood sugar elevations through a mobile app.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/why-would-people-without-diabetes-monitor-their-blood-sugar.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/why-would-people-without-diabetes-monitor-their-blood-sugar.jpeg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"Why Would People Without Diabetes Monitor Their Blood Sugar?"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=46090#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why Would People Without Diabetes Monitor Their Blood Sugar?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/66727059a59313c4f549beae0c1fceb1","name":"Larissa Zimberoff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c4b44e0f01d6c2d24be23341f293e3fe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c4b44e0f01d6c2d24be23341f293e3fe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Larissa Zimberoff"},"description":"Larissa Zimberoff was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 12-years old. She is an avid cyclist and a passionate supporter of bike lanes, free WiFi and the Affordable Care Act. She lives in New York City and writes about the intersection of food and technology. You can follow her on Twitter or read more of her published work","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=232"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46090"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/232"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46090"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46110,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46090\/revisions\/46110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}