She has neither flask nor canteen of diluted vinegar. At snack time, the self-proclaimed “goddess of glucose”, who recommends sipping this drink to limit blood sugar peaks (detrimental according to her for health), prefers tea. Red if possible. Tall, slender, fake nails the same orange as her T-shirt, machine-gun flow and a charming smile, Jessie Inchauspé is overflowing with energy. Perhaps an effect of her advice, which she applies of course, “to feel in good shape”. Unless it’s the adrenaline of the launch of his new book on May 4. The first, Make your glucose revolution (Robert Laffont), sold 160,000 copies in France in one year. The second, The Glucose Goddess Method, is intended as a practical version: program in four weeks, testimonials and recipes. On the menu, savory breakfasts, vegetable-based starters and low glycemic index dishes. And of course, ideas for swallowing your daily dose of vinegar – diluted, in ice cubes or even in a cocktail.
In a trendy café in the center of Paris, the 30-year-old unfolds the arguments repeated over and over in her books and on her Instagram account with 2 million subscribers. In summary: the level of glucose (or blood sugar), our main source of energy, must not rise too quickly in the blood after a meal, otherwise it could cause damage. “This is true for diabetics and prediabetics, but also for everyone else. By reducing blood sugar spikes, you prevent diabetes. You will also have fewer food cravings, skin problems, sleep problems, mental fog, risks of cancer, heart attack or Alzheimer’s. We will age less quickly and we will be more energetic”, she says.
An unproven link between blood sugar spikes and disease
Really ? “It’s completely speculative, slice Pr Jean-François Gautier, president of the French Society of Diabetes. The recent arrival of continuous glucose sensors, which measure the level of sugar in the blood twenty-four twenty-four hours, has shown that some non-diabetic subjects had higher than average blood sugar peaks just after meals. But is this associated with more diseases, especially metabolic or cardiovascular? We have not yet enough data to confirm it”. The Instagrammer, who defines herself as a “scientific popularizer”, would therefore have gone faster than the experts?
Asked about these reservations, Jessie Inchaupsé refers “to the many scientific references cited in her books and on her site”. “Those who criticize me haven’t read them,” she sighs, taking a sip of tea. Work which, in reality, relates for a lot to diabetics, and not to the general population. Not to mention that the number of studies does not make the strength of the evidence. A fortiori to recommend medical interventions, even preventive ones. “A scientific consensus is necessary, and we are not there: the field is emerging, especially for non-diabetics”, confirms Professor Paul Valensi, diabetologist at Aubervilliers and former head of service at the AP-HP.
No matter: to test her ideas, the 30-year-old conducted her own “pilot experiment” with her “community”. Some 2,700 fans, recruited via his social networks, tested “the Glucose Goddess Method”: “87% had fewer cravings, 67% said they were happier, 58% of those who had mental health problems had fewer …”, she says in her book. Seriously ? “I know it’s not a scientific study … but still: the results are there,” she says. Its poise would almost make you forget that these data, observational and not published in a scientific journal, prove nothing.
queen of marketing
Jessie Inchauspé dreams of being the new Giulia Enders, the author of the bestseller The discreet charm of the gut, which had revealed to the general public the key role of the microbiota in health. “I was inspired by it, she admits. I looked at its catchphrases, its tools to facilitate reading…” In reality, the 30-year-old especially had a good fairy: the star of the edition Susanna Lea, agent of successful writers. Not really a coincidence: “It was the agent of David Servan-Schreiber, the brother of my stepfather”, explains Jessie. with his books Heal And anti-cancer, this psychiatrist promoted unconventional methods (meditation, nutrition, etc.) in addition to cancer treatments – which ultimately won out. “He too was criticized by the medical profession”, asserts the young woman, as if to justify herself.
This perhaps explaining that, Jessie Inchauspé borrows a lot of tips from personal development books. She refutes the comparison, and yet: as in these works, she starts from her own difficulties (an accident at 19, followed by mental disorders). She tells how she “came out of it” (by “planing” her glucose peaks). And shares his advice “so that as many people as possible can benefit from it”. But it takes more than good marketing to convince specialists.
The link established by this graduate in biochemistry between blood sugar peaks and restless sleep, acne, type 1 diabetes, cancer or Alzheimer’s? “Allegations which are not based on much”, regrets Professor Pascal Crenn, nutritionist at the Ambroise-Paré hospital, in Boulogne-Billancourt (AP-HP). “It’s always a good idea to avoid eating too much sugar. But the rise in blood sugar after a meal is physiological, that is to say normal, reminds Professor Jean-Michel Lecerf, nutrition specialist at the Pasteur Institute in Lille. It poses a problem especially when it is too high, particularly in prediabetics who have resistance to insulin, the hormone that regulates glucose in the blood.” A diet rich in sugars plays in the appearance of prediabetes, but it is not the only factor. “Insulin resistance sets in for complex reasons, combining diet, age, overweight, physical inactivity and genetics. It promotes weight gain, then an increase in blood pressure and lipids. This is this syndrome metabolic rate which will give cardiovascular risks”, summarizes Professor Philippe Froguel, diabetologist at the Lille University Hospital.
A new obsession
If Jessie Inchauspé advocates stopping counting calories, a good idea according to these experts, excessive attention to blood sugar risks leading her readers “to a new obsession”, they worry. Some of his advice, however, proves to be validated by science: eat vegetables as a starter, move after a meal and do not swallow carbohydrates alone. However, these are recommendations usually given to diabetics. As for the effect of vinegar on blood sugar, it was the subject of a meta-analysis (a synthesis of available studies) last year. Conclusion: the benefits attributed to this remedy are based on poor quality and biased work…
Other precepts annoy specialists more. In particular the idea that we should eat more protein (toxic for the kidneys in too large quantities) or even worse, fats, especially saturated fats such as animal fats or coconut oil to accompany carbohydrates. “It is very embarrassing, because to reduce the cardiovascular risk, it is precisely necessary to avoid them as much as possible”, recalls Professor Valensi.
One thing is certain, by focusing on glucose, the young woman has relaunched the fashion for “low glycemic index” diets – no less than 11 recipe books have been published in the past year! “But there too, there is no evidence to say that this prevents anything, except perhaps functional disorders”, sighs Professor Crenn. “It’s more about good advice, but that doesn’t sum it all up, nuances Professor Lecerf. In terms of food, it is the Mediterranean diet whose interest has been best demonstrated. It includes a low GI component but it is more balanced.” To prevent chronic diseases, we therefore always come back to the same advice: eat healthy and practice sustained physical activity, at least three hours a week. “It’s less magical than saying ‘drink the vinegar and everything will be better'”, quips Dr Froguel. And much less seller…