Hacking the Human Body: The Rise of Consumer Continuous Glucose Monitors

By Jon Cohen:

For years, TV and radio ads have promoted health products or health trends touting quick results, but in reality, it can take weeks or even months for users to know whether these have had any positive results. Counting calories and keeping a food log can help, but it’s still difficult and slow to track how the foods we eat affect our bodies. Now, technology is being repurposed to show us how our bodies react to food in real time. Up to now, this kind of insight has been limited to hospitals and labs. Today, it’s moving into everyday life through a growing movement known as biohacking.

Biohacking is the practice of making small, intentional changes to your biology, diet, or lifestyle to improve health and performance.

It mixes old ideas—better sleep, clean eating, movement—with new technology that delivers data we can measure. It’s the modern pursuit of self-knowledge, and one device has brought it to the mainstream: the continuous glucose monitor, or CGM.

Originally designed to help people with diabetes manage blood sugar, CGMs have become one of the most popular tools among wellness enthusiasts and curious consumers. This quiet shift marks something bigger than a tech trend. It’s changing how people think about nutrition, energy, and even the food industry itself.

Photo by: Sjö, Wiki Commons

The Gateway Tech: Continuous Glucose Monitors

A CGM is a small, minimally invasive sensor, usually worn on the back of the arm, that measures glucose levels in the fluid between cells just beneath the skin. The device sends readings to a smartphone app every few minutes, producing a steady stream of data rather than a single blood-test snapshot. Most sensors stay in place for about two weeks before being replaced, and there’s a short warm-up period after insertion.

For people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, this technology has been life changing. It allows them to fine-tune insulin doses, avoid dangerous highs and lows, and see long-term patterns in ways that finger-prick testing never could. But now, that same medical hardware, such as Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre and Dexcom’s G7, is being repurposed for even broader insights for a whole new population.

Companies that focus on health and wellness, such as Levels, Stelo (Dexcom), Lingo (Abbott), NutriSense, and Signos, have begun building platforms around these sensors. They are offering subscription programs for people without diabetes who want to gain access to the data. They combine the medical devices with apps, coaching, and analytics, turning raw glucose data into lifestyle advice. The trend signals a major shift: what began as a medical necessity has evolved into a personal optimization tool.

Why Non-Diabetics Are Wearing Them

So why would a healthy person wear a medical sensor? The answer is personalization. Nutrition recommendations have long been based on population averages. Eating more fiber, less sugar, and fewer refined carbs is still good general advice, but all bodies don’t respond the same way. Studies show that glucose responses to identical meals can vary dramatically from one person to another, influenced by genetics, sleep, stress, and differences in the microbiome. A CGM offers a direct window into how your own system handles food.

Many users say they’re looking to avoid the afternoon crash or “brain fog” that often follows a blood sugar spike and dip. Others use the data to manage cravings, maintain a steady energy level, or fine-tune workouts and recovery. Some track how late-night snacks disrupt their glucose patterns and, in turn, their sleep.

While the insights can be eye-opening, it’s worth noting that the science is still developing. There’s no definitive evidence yet that CGM use for people without diabetes leads to better long-term health outcomes. What it does provide is awareness, a way to connect cause and effect between daily choices and immediate biological feedback.

Making Sense of the Data

The amount of information a CGM produces can be overwhelming. So most apps try to keep things simple by displaying information like “Time in Range,” average glucose, and glucose variability, and by showing users simple charts of post-meal blood sugar rises and falls. As a reference point, healthy non-diabetic adults typically average around 98 mg/dL and spend the vast majority of their time between 70 and 140 mg/dL. But individual results can differ widely, even with similar diets.

But of course, this is not a perfect science. One lesson users quickly discover when using a CGM is that their bodies are unique, and the way they process food can be affected by external factors like lack of sleep, stress, or even a tough workout earlier in the day, which can all push glucose higher without any food involved. Because of individual differences, a banana might cause a spike in one person more than a cookie does in another. The key is recognizing trends over time rather than obsessing over every fluctuation.

An important thing to keep in mind is that CGMs measure glucose in interstitial fluid, not directly in the bloodstream. This means we see a natural delay of about 5 to 10 minutes in this data. Also, minor, temporary spikes are normal and not inherently bad. This has led to an emerging issue known as “glucose anxiety.” Users should not fixate on every small change, nor should they restrict their diet in hopes of controlling their CGM readings. The healthiest approach is to use the data as a guide, ideally with the support of a doctor or registered dietitian who can put the numbers into context.

The Food Industry’s Next Reckoning

If millions of people can now see, in relatively real time, how processed foods or sugary drinks affect their bodies, it’s only a matter of time before that information reshapes the marketplace. The transparency that CGMs provide at the individual level could soon pressure food companies to be more honest about how their products affect blood sugar and energy levels.

Imagine walking into a grocery store where food labels not only show calories and fat but also a “glucose impact score.” It’s speculative for now, but the idea fits the trajectory. As consumers gain access to more biometric feedback, they’ll demand foods that align with what their bodies actually tolerate. Companies that reformulate or provide that transparency will have a competitive advantage.

The Next Frontier in Biohacking

Researchers are already working on the next step: glucose monitoring without any skin penetration. Experimental devices use light, radio waves, and spectroscopy to estimate glucose levels through the skin or even in sweat. None of these non-invasive monitors has yet reached clinical accuracy, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned against unapproved smartwatches that claim to measure glucose. Still, progress has been steady, and a reliable non-invasive CGM is expected in just a few short years.

A New Era of Personalized Health

The rapid growth of consumer CGMs marks a turning point in personal health. It shifts people from following generalized advice to understanding their own biology in detail. Whether used for better energy, smarter eating, or simple curiosity, the technology invites users to take an active role in how they feel every day.

It’s not just about tracking numbers; it’s about learning how your body truly works. For the first time, that knowledge is available not to scientists or clinicians but to anyone willing to look beneath the surface.

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Jon Cohen

Jon Cohen’s contributions can be found on radio, TV, and print media. Jon makes “geek speak” understandable for the masses and has been a voice in the tech community for over 20 years. A former “Geek Squad” member as well as an “Apple Genius,” he offers a fresh perspective on technology, photography, and social media X: @cohenHD