What Should My Blood Sugar Be Doing?

Many viewers write in with the same puzzle. My blood sugar was fine at bedtime, I fasted all night, and I woke up to a high number, so what is going on? In this episode, Dr. Scott Saunders answers the real question behind it. What should your blood sugar actually be doing, and what number should you aim for? His answer is likely lower than what your doctor has told you, because his goal is for you to need less medication, not more.

Dr. Saunders explains how to check your blood sugar accurately, why the optimum fasting range is 70 to 90, and what the dawn effect really tells you. He walks through the cell-level mechanism of insulin resistance using a simple fuel-tank analogy, then answers a full hour of viewer questions on berberine, ferritin, gabapentin, cholesterol, gout, and more.

In this episode, Dr. Saunders covers:

• Why a smartwatch cannot truly measure your blood sugar, and what a continuous glucose monitor actually reads
• What your fasting blood sugar should really be, and why it is lower than the usual doctor target
• The dawn effect, and why your morning number can climb even when you have not eaten
• The cell and insulin-receptor mechanism behind insulin resistance, explained with a fuel-tank analogy
• The two levers that make you more insulin sensitive: cutting glucose and exercise
• Why adding insulin to an insulin-resistant body can make things worse
• How berberine compares to metformin, and how it is typically dosed
• Viewer Q&A on ferritin, gabapentin, cholesterol targets, gout, and lifting your heels for circulation

Timestamps

• 2:36 — How to actually check your blood sugar, and why smartwatches are not accurate
• 4:10 — Continuous glucose monitor vs. finger stick, and the 20% accuracy question
• 6:30 — What your optimum blood sugar really is: 70 to 90
• 7:40 — Why doctors aim for 100 to 150, and the hypoglycemia concern
• 8:50 — The dawn effect explained: cortisol, glucagon, and your glucose thermostat
• 10:25 — Pre-diabetes vs. diabetes: the A1c numbers
• 12:58 — How to control your morning number: the cell and insulin-receptor mechanism
• 15:00 — The fuel-tank analogy for full cells and rising blood sugar
• 17:00 — The two ways to become more insulin sensitive: exercise and no sugar
• 22:46 — Why prescribing insulin for insulin resistance can backfire
• 25:57 — What ferritin really is, and why levels rise with inflammation
• 28:31 — Gabapentin for itching and neuropathy: what it does and does not do
• 41:46 — Berberine vs. metformin, and why one may be the better choice
• 46:56 — How lifting your heels uses a big muscle to lower blood sugar
• 49:38 — Rethinking cholesterol targets and the real fix
• 52:17 — Treating gout by fixing insulin resistance

Products mentioned in this episode — use code Saunders25 for 25% off:

• Diabetes Solution Kit
• Berberine
• CinnaChroma

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