Ashley Capoot wearing a CGM.
Ashley Capoot | CNBC
Because it seems, exercise is sweet for you. So is sleep, and unfortunately, so are vegetables.
I’ve heard these health adages a whole lot of times before, but they really began to hit home for me this winter as I tested out a metabolic health platform from the startup Signos. In brief, the corporate offers a subscription service that features a small continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which you stick in your arm or abdomen, that sends that data to the Signos app which, in turn, goals to enable you to drop pounds by keeping track of your blood sugar.
The subscription price varies depending on the plan you decide. A one-month plan starts at $449, but a 6-month plan starts at about $143 a month if you happen to pay upfront. But services like this, once reserved for diabetics, may soon offer an entire recent revenue stream for health corporations. Dexcom, for instance, recently received FDA clearance for its over-the-counter Stelo product, expected to launch this summer. Meanwhile, Signos competes with other firms like NutriSense, Veri and Levels.
I desired to get a first-hand understanding of what these glucose monitors are like, so I gave Signos’ latest system, which uses a Dexcom G7 monitor, a try. Here’s what I learned.
Signos
Founded in 2018, Signos uses continuous glucose monitors, or CGMs, and a man-made intelligence-powered app to assist people higher understand their metabolisms. The corporate gives users personalized insights into how their bodies reply to specific foods and once they should exercise to get the most effective results for weight reduction.
Glucose is a style of sugar we receive from food, and it is the body’s primary source of energy. A CGM is a small sensor that pokes through the skin to trace a person’s blood glucose levels, or blood sugar levels, in real-time. The sensor is often worn on the upper arm or abdomen, and it may wirelessly transmit data to a smartphone.
CGMs are primarily utilized by individuals with diabetes since they may help patients get alerted to emergencies. But Signos’ CGM system is supposed for average consumers, so it is just not intended for diabetes management. Other corporations like Abbott Laboratories are also launching consumer-facing CGM systems within the U.S. this yr.
Signos’ platform teaches users how their day by day habits like weight loss program, hydration, exercise, stress and sleep affect their glucose and may cause it to spike.
Glucose spikes occur when the quantity of sugar present within the bloodstream rapidly increases. This often happens after eating. Within the short term, spikes may cause feelings of lethargy and fatigue, but high blood sugar can result in more serious health problems like diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease over time, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Everyone’s glucose levels are variable, so spikes and dips are inevitable, but Signos goals to assist people reduce the intensity and frequency of their spikes. The corporate says that maintaining relatively stable glucose levels may help people improve the health of their metabolism, drop pounds and ultimately reduce the danger of chronic disease.
Getting arrange
Woman with Signos wearable and app
Source: Signos
To start with Signos, I needed to take a fast questionnaire that asked me for some basic biological information and details about my medical history. I submitted my answers for review by an independent physician, and my CGM prescription was approved and commenced processing for shipment a number of hours later.
After a few days, my kit arrived in a brown Signos box. It includes an handbook, the CGMs, alcohol wipes and athletic patches to place over the CGM once it’s applied. I followed the instructions within the manual and downloaded the Signos app, which prompted me to establish accounts with Signos and the CGM company Dexcom.
Dexcom makes the CGMs that Signos uses, though Dexcom’s products are exclusively designed for patients diagnosed with diabetes. Signos is using Dexcom’s CGMs as a part of a clinical study approved by an institutional review board designated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which monitors biomedical research involving real people, Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer, Signos’ co-founder and CEO, told CNBC in October.
Dexcom Ventures also backs Signos as an investor, and the firm participated within the $20 million funding round that Signos announced last fall.
Signos’ platform works with Dexcom’s G6 CGM and the newer G7 CGM. I tested the platform using the G7, which Signos launched in January. The G6 and the G7 sensors last for 10 days, and I went through three G7s during my trial.
Ashley Capoot wearing a CGM.
Ashley Capoot | CNBC
Once I had arrange my accounts, it was time to placed on my first sensor, which I used to be nervous about.
I’m generally wonderful around needles, though I are inclined to look away if I actually have to get a shot on the doctor’s office. The CGM’s needle is small – it looks like someone clicked a mechanical pencil a number of times, for comparison – but I am unable to say I used to be excited to stay it into my arm.
Much to my relief, applying the sensor is simple and painless.
The Signos app walked me through the method step-by-step, offering a one-minute video and a series of GIFs I could watch. I cleaned the back of my left arm with an alcohol wipe, placed the applicator there, pressed the button on the applicator and popped the CGM, needle and all, right onto my arm. The G7 is white, in regards to the size of 1 / 4, and perhaps half an inch thick.
I paired the CGM to the Signos app by enabling Bluetooth and scanning the corresponding QR code on my applicator. Once the CGM was applied and paired to my app, I put a purple athletic patch on top to assist protect the sensor from tugging, sweat and water.
It took the sensor about half-hour to regulate to my body before it was warmed up and able to go.
What’s good
I used to be fearful that the CGM could be painful or cumbersome, but I forgot about it often, and it is simple to wear normal clothes and jackets over it, even in the event that they have tight sleeves.
I experienced some sensitivity for a pair days when sleeping on my left side, particularly after changing out the sensor. My upper arm felt a bit tender, like there was a light-weight bruise. Nonetheless, I selected to wear the CGM in the identical place on my left arm every time, and I feel I could have avoided that sensitivity if I had switched between my left arm and my right arm.
I had never seen or interpreted glucose data before, and I believed the Signos platform did a pleasant job explaining concepts and breaking them down. The app led me through a series of short articles and activities to start, like the right way to log my meals and exercise.
It also introduced me to the concept of my “optimal glucose range,” which is where Signos wants you to try to keep your glucose levels. Signos starts by setting the upper certain of the range at 120 mg/dL, and the lower certain at 80 mg/dL, however the app’s algorithm adjusts it based in your body’s patterns. My upper certain was eventually adjusted to 126 mg/dL, as an example.
Whenever you have a look at the Signos home page, you possibly can see your real-time glucose reading, your glucose level graph (which incorporates a shaded area to point your optimal range), and the proportion of time you’ve got spent within the range every day. This might be particularly useful for folk who could also be prediabetic and need to keep watch over their levels over time.
Once I got the hang of the fundamentals, Signos prompted me with more activities and articles that helped me experiment and deepen my understanding of my blood sugar. As an illustration, one activity encouraged me to try exercising right after a meal, and once I did, I saw it drastically reduced the spike I used to be experiencing.
One other activity had me try to guess what I believed my glucose levels were at different points throughout the day. I used to be surprised how quickly I started to know the correlation between how I used to be feeling and my current reading. You’ll be able to skip activities if you happen to don’t desire to do them, but on the entire, I discovered them interesting and useful.
Signos also has registered dieticians on staff, and users can ask them questions via chat, email or through a phone consultation. I arrange a gathering after my first week wearing a CGM, and I discovered it very helpful. I asked a bunch of questions on my data and the Signos app itself, and I also got some recommendations on what to try to work on next.
I knew the experience could be personalized, but I do not think I’ve ever had this much specific insight into what is occurring in my body. I discovered it fascinating to see how I responded to different foods, and there have been some surprises.
I incessantly eat fast oatmeal for breakfast, for instance, and have all the time considered it as a comparatively healthy meal. But truly, I learned oatmeal causes my glucose to spike significantly. On Feb. 9, oatmeal raised my levels from 88 mg/dL to 167 mg/dL. So while it could be a fantastic breakfast for some people, oatmeal is not necessarily the most effective alternative for me.
I used to be less surprised by my reactions to many other foods, but I still found it worthwhile to bolster these concepts with data. Processed foods like chips and sweets caused large spikes in my levels, but fruits, vegetables and protein-rich meals had a rather more gradual impact. I eat greek yogurt as a snack rather a lot, as an example, and I discovered that it hardly caused my levels to spike.
It felt powerful to see how my body responded to nutritious food and it definitely made me more conscious of the alternatives I used to be making.
Ashley Capoot wearing a CGM.
Ashley Capoot | CNBC
Because it seems, spikes in your blood sugar might be brought on by an entire lot greater than just food. That was news to me. Along with logging meals and exercise, the Signos app has a “Tags” feature where you possibly can write notes and choose from a listing of greater than 60 different possible spike-causing culprits. Among the options include stress, travel, medication, sickness, crying and even a hot shower.
I learned that my glucose tends to spike while I’m writing a breaking news story (who knew!), and I spend less time in my optimal range once I’m feeling drained. I had a very stressful week at work in January, and searching back at my readings, I can definitely tell.
I discovered it helpful to visualise how all styles of various factors, some inside my control and a few not, could impact my blood sugar. It really drives home the concept that you might be affected by the world around you.
And for bonus points, the CGM is a fantastic conversation starter.
I discovered that my friends, family and colleagues were really enthusiastic about the device and what I used to be learning from it. Since it is not all that common for the common person to wear CGMs yet, I feel there was a component of novelty there.
Finally, it is simple to take off the CGM when it expires. After the ten days are up, you just grab the adhesive and peel it off like a sticker.
What’s bad
Signos’ user interface is simple to make use of, but some features were more intuitive than others.
It took me a number of days to learn the right way to input my sleep, as an example, because I could not determine the right way to log the hours appropriately. It was also hard to gauge how much detail to make use of when logging my meals, as I tended to maintain my entries to only a number of words. I may need gotten more specific insights and fine-tuned my algorithm further if I had more guidance there.
Moreover, it wasn’t all the time possible for me to have interaction with the platform’s alerts and activities, particularly in the course of the work day.
After eating a meal, I might often get a “Fast Rise” notification from my Signos app, which indicates that a glucose spike is going on. The notification encourages users to have interaction in 20 to half-hour of “brisk walking” or 10 to quarter-hour of plyometrics, a type of high-intensity exercise, to assist reduce the spike. I work in-person at CNBC’s newsroom three days per week, so this often wasn’t realistic for me to do.
I asked about this notification once I met with the Signos dietitian, and he or she told me that any movement is useful, even when it’s just a fast walk up or down a flight of stairs. I attempted to be certain that to take a lap across the newsroom once I learned that, but I feel it will have been helpful to know upfront, too.
A “Fast Rise” notification on Signos.
Subscriptions to Signos are expensive, and for a lot of users, CGMs are usually not covered by insurance yet. Customers who join for Signos can select a one-month, three-month or six-month plan.
The steep price tag is unquestionably value considering. In response to its website, Signos said users who’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes may find a way to get the associated fee of the CGM covered by their insurer. But users who shouldn’t have type 2 diabetes could also be out of luck.
The corporate said some people may find a way to make use of their Health Savings Account reimbursement funds to cover the Signos, but that it “is just not liable for reimbursement in any capability,” in accordance with the location.
In other words, users who need to try to reduce the prices of the platform should try to figure it out themselves.
I also found myself checking the Signos app incessantly, almost prefer it became one other type of social media. This gave me some pause.
I actually have been fortunate to have had a comparatively positive relationship with food throughout my life, and I’m also not someone who experiences much health anxiety. Even so, I attempted to be very conscious of my mindset and attitude toward the Signos platform. I treated Signos like a tool and a learning experience, and I actually didn’t need to put an excessive amount of emphasis on the numbers.
I knew that approach could be best for me, and it worked well for essentially the most part. Nonetheless, I did catch myself feeling guilty about large spikes on a number of occasions.
As I noticed those feelings, and the way often I used to be checking the app, I felt prefer it was pretty easy to see how the platform could find yourself being harmful for some users’ mental health, particularly in the event that they’ve struggled with body image or eating disorders.
Signos said all prospective members are asked about their medical history, including disordered eating, of their initial medical questionnaire. If someone is actively experiencing or in recovery from an eating disorder, Signos said the independent physician wouldn’t approve them for participation within the Signos program.
The corporate said it doesn’t recommend any specific eating style, and there are metabolic health coaches on staff to assist check in with users about how they feel.
As with most things, I feel trusting yourself is vital here. When you don’t think accessing your metabolic data could be good on your mental health, then using a CGM might be not a fantastic idea. You too can all the time check in together with your doctor to come to a decision if the technology is correct for you.
Takeaways
The Signos experience really depends upon you, the user.
The app is not going to do the training or make lifestyle changes for you, so if you happen to aren’t willing to take the time to log your meals and complete activities, chances are high you will not get much out of the platform.
As a young and comparatively healthy individual, I wasn’t sure what to anticipate from Signos, but I learned rather a lot about how my body responds to my weight loss program, sleep, exercise and stress. The CGM is like a bit window into what goes on beneath the skin, and I feel it is simple to see why it is a worthwhile tool. After only one month of use, I actually have a deeper understanding of why I feel sleepy, lethargic or energized.
I would not be surprised if I return to CGM systems at different stages of my life to higher understand how I’m responding to my nutrition and the world around me.