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About Yaron Hadad, Phd
Yaron is a mathematician and a physicist, and the chief scientist and a cofounder of Nutrino.
He’s worked in a number of scientific areas, primarily in general relativity, integrable systems, partial differential equations, and the foundations of quantum theory. Yaron’s current work and research in Nutrino is a brave attempt to form a new interdisciplinary field he likes to call “mathematical nutrition.”
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Ideas for Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) Devices
Abbott FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring system
Books, Resources and Christmas Gift Ideas
Your Amazing Heart: Dr. Lee's Health Secrets (Book One)
Your Awesome Brain: Dr. Lee's Health Secrets (Book Two)
Interview Show Notes
02:18 24-Hour Glucose Monitor: Dr. Hadad and his team have created an app called Nutrino or The Footprint Diet by Nutrino. The app focuses on nutrition and can connect to a number of devices and wearable devices. It can also use DNA data from 23 and Me. The app can be used to discover your footprint, the digital signature of how food affects your body.
03:33 How The App Works: People log their meals for a period of time. There is a huge food database from grocery store barcodes to restaurant meals. They have analyzed and logged the menus of over 250,000 restaurants in the US. If you are connected to a continuous glucose monitor, you can really see how your metabolism responds to foods. By connecting your FitBit, you can see how physical activity impacts glucose intake. Many devices monitor sleep, adding that data. The app changes our perception of our body in relation to food. The goal is to take Dr. Hadad’s journey of personal diet discovery and make it easy for the rest of us.
11:07 Biomarkers: Dr. Hadad would like to see a wearable device that measures antioxidants, in real time. The most exciting biomarker is glucose. It is the closest thing we have to being able to monitor metabolism. It is the best proxy for insulin. Many companies are working on making continuous blood pressure monitors. Blood pressure shifts with foods. They measure things that influence metabolism, like sleep and physical activity. They can measure data from insulin pumps. They are looking to measure our microbiomes.
14:37 Glucose Rhythm: The app predicts glucose responses using historical responses and events that may have triggered them. The models used are sensitive to the time of day. The time between we awaken until the time we eat is important for the models used due to the influence upon circadian rhythm and the microbiome. By changing the microbiome in mice, you can change their circadian rhythm, and vice versa. The later you eat your first meal (typically) the glucose response is amplified. If you eat late at night, your glucose levels are effected while you sleep.
18:53 Aligning Meds with Rhythms: An app called Sugar IQ for people with a continuous glucose monitor and insulin pumps help people to learn about their bodies and manage their glucose levels better. Insulin is a dangerous drug and needs to be closely monitored and regulated. Dr. Hadad would like to see continuous glucose monitoring available to all. Right now they are only for people with diabetes.
22:42 Fat Consumption and Glucose: Fat dilutes glucose and stretches the glucose response over a longer period of time.
23:17 Eating Out: One of the features in Nutrino is the Eat Out feature. More than half of the meals consumed in the US are eaten out. A comprehensive set of parameters are entered into the app. You can set your health goal. You can set your taste profile and dietary needs. You can also customize nutrient ranges. The app takes this into account for the Eat Out/Food GPS feature, along with what else you ate that day and whether you worked out. It finds food that is relevant for you.
29:45 Carbohydrates: In general, there is a trend between the amounts of carbs in the diet and the glucose response. It is the best predictor of a glucose response.
30:32 Healthy Foods and Glucose Response: It may not be the glucose components within the food, it may be some other inflammatory component, like pesticides. They have observed that certain foods create a surprising response. For Dr. Hadad, mangoes, which are are high in carbs and sugar, have little effect upon his glucose levels in comparison to orange juice. Food effects our microbiome and our microbiome effects glucose responses. It is a complex system and glucose response is not consistently predictable. The glycemic index is a generalization. There can be great variations in glucose response.
34:45 Genomic Testing: 23 and Me data has been integrated into the Nutrino App recently. There is a great deal of literature on nutrigenomics and the relationship to metabolism of certain nutrients like folate.
35:59Heartrate Variability: One of the most exciting parameters that will be entered into the Nutrino system is heartrate variability, discretely and continuously. It will provide amazing insight into our stress levels and quality of sleep.
37:13 Blood Tests: Blood test results have already been integrated into Nutrino. This way blood testing results can be address through diet. Nutrition is related to everything.
38:08 Exciting Wearables: There is a lot of motion in the direction of wearables. Dr. Hadad expects great strides in even the next 12 months.
39:03 Wearables and BlueTooth Concerns: The companies that produce these devices are heavily regulated about radiation. Dr. Hadad is not concerned.
40:03 Dr. Hadad’s Morning Routine: He does about half an hour of yoga then has breakfast and heads to work. Most of his exercise is done at night. He runs for an hour or so. He just moved to the US from Tel Aviv, so he is still adjusting to the time change. Until he moved, he was a night owl, doing his best work and research at night. Because he was consistent, it did not negatively impact blood sugar regulation.
44:00 Dr. Hadad’s Favorite Nutrient: Fiber is his favorite. He consumes more than 50 grams of fiber each day. Fiber has beneficial effects upon your microbiome and metabolism. It positively influences glucose response long term by positively influencing the microbiome. He consumes broccoli, kale, spinach are his top 3 vegetables. Garlic is not high fiber, but Dr. Hadad consumes it for its many other benefits.
45:46 Dr. Hadad’s Elevator Pitch: The top factors in what people are eating is their environment and availability of food. He would like to have government and health organizations encourage restaurants to serve healthier foods.
Hope you understand that it makes me very angry, that as a type 1, right now I can’t get a CGM.. “but one day we all can”
Hi there Juliette!
Why can’t you get one? Have you tried switching doctors?
Thanks,
Mike
I would say the problem is not with Juliettes doctor, is it more likely his/her hands are tied by the insurance company. In my managed care system I cannot get a simple 25-hydroxy Vit D test covered. So On top of a $700 monthly premium just for myself I need to pay $70 out of pocket to get this test even though my doctor agrees I need it. The Blue Shield plan does not deem yearly VIt D status to be relevant, so they cover zero percent, unlike some other routine tests like fasting glucose which is 100% covered. So, these new devices, until they are shown by the bean counters to be cost effective, will most likely not be reimburseable.
My premiums are going up to $826 next year. If you are self employed and make too much to qualify for subsidies, then in many states the only affordable option is so crappy you end up paying out of pocket on top of mandated premiums to get good care. The system is incredibly broken.
Hi Mims,
It’s frustrating indeed. I’m so disappointed that serum vitamin D is now more expensive than it was in 2006, yet we actually have more science showing that low 25-OH is linked with various disease states.
The system is broken indeed; I’m hopeful that the scientific wellness revolution will help to carve a new path.
Cheers,
Mike