A Tale of Two

Join me as I explore the [true!] tale of two southern women.

As quick background to this story, one of the things we learn in my Sweet Spot Program is the importance of protein. I know, I know!...Everyone is sick and tired of hearing about protein (and yet, its importance persists). And the second piece of information that's helpful to know is that beans are a very common and very affordable source of almighty protein.

Now back to my ladies: both of whom use a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) to see the unique response of their blood sugar to different foods, drinks, and lifestyle choices.

One women, who we will call "Daisy," happens to really enjoy jambalaya - and for those of you not familiar with jambalaya, it's a local southern dish with rice, vegetables, usually some sort of protein like chicken or pork and a generous sprinkling of cajun herbs and spices - very similar to a Spanish paella.

While using a CGM for the first time, Daisy noticed that her beloved jambalaya caused her blood sugar to spike quite a bit - hello rice!

So, Daisy decided to use one of the strategies we learn in Sweet Spot - which is adding more protein to your carbs. So the next time she ordered a plate of jambalaya, Daisy added some red beans (another local favorite) right on top of her jambalaya because ...Louisiana!

Can you guess what happened? Yep. She had a smaller glucose spike than last time... even though the timing, portion size, and situation was very similar to the first jambalaya meal!

That's great news for all of us, right? Beans for everyone!

Well, not so fast...because we still have to talk about our second lady, who we will call "Maisie."

Maisie also uses a CGM and discovers that beans actually cause a SPIKE in her blood sugar! So, one year and thirty pounds of weight loss later, she continues to avoid beans (as well as other triggers) in her diet.

And this is why I love using Continuous Glucose Monitoring!

Because everyone has heard about the PERFECT diet from a friend, family member, or social media influencer. The reality?

THERE IS NO SINGLE DIET THAT IS PERFECT for "everyone."

Now we do have some pretty decent guidelines about what is included & excluded in a healthy diet for the average person - and guidelines are a great place to start!

In Sweet Spot, one of the first things we discuss is actually what the components of that "average" recommended healthy diet looks like - it's important to know! But I think it's equally important to know that the international glycemic index of foods, which is used to rank how much a food will raise your blood sugar, is based on averages. Your individual blood sugar reaction can differ from the average by 20-25%! 1 So while eating a diet with plenty of "low" to "moderate" glycemic index foods can be a great place to start, it may not give you the results you were expecting. Why?

Because friend, are you always the average? NO.

All the way down to your very DNA, you are a little bit unique!

So, do you know if you are "Team Bean" or "Team Bean-NO!" yet?

Let's find out together in Sweet Spot and start simplifying your daily food choices by making them specific to you.

Happy Learning,

Krista

Krista Robichaux, PharmD

P.S. Have some questions for me about next steps? Email me at krista@atlasadvocates.com. I would love to chat with you!

Citation:

1. Accessed April 20, 2025. Matthan NR, Ausman LM, Meng H, Tighiouart H, Lichtenstein AH. Estimating the reliability of glycemic index values and potential sources of methodological and biological variability. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 Oct;104(4):1004-1013. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.116.137208. Epub 2016 Sep 7. PMID: 27604773; PMCID: PMC5039811.