You Might Have Diabetes ... You Just Don't Know It Yet.

Avi Mehta, Kevin Souder, Idhant Kumar, Neil Dandekar | March 2025

One in five Americans are unaware they have diabetes and more than eight in ten adults are unaware they are pre-diabetic. Our team, The Avengers, have addressed the issue with this site, aimed at educating about the factors which contribute to diabetes. Scroll along as we demonstrate surprising findings from the CGMacros Dataset, a 10-day collection of health data from over 40 participants. Check out our demo!

Blood Sugar, BMI, Gut Health, and Macronutrients

According to the study, we determined that Blood Sugar (glucose), BMI, Gut Health, and Macronutrients played a large factor in whether someone had diabetes. Before we start, let's gauge your udnerstanding of these factors' influence with a pop quiz (don't worry it's short).

How much do you think these factors affect glucose spikes?

Adjust the sliders to indicate how important each factor is.

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Which group do you think has the highest glucose spikes?



Food Macronutrients

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Spiky Glucose!

After every snack or meal, your glucose levels 'spike'. In the dataset, glucose levels of 45 participants were tracked -- some without diabetes, some with pre-diabetes, and some with type 2 diabetes. Each participant wore a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) for ten days and logged every meal. The chart below shows how average glucose tends to spike within the first 30 to 60 minutes after a meal. Don't be afraid to hover over the blobs to view more info!

Scroll to explore how glucose levels change over 10 days among all participants (each is a blob).

Day 1

Glucose levels on Day 1 show a wide range of responses, suggesting that factors like BMI, gut health, and lifestyle choices affect how the body handles sugar. Some participants had stable levels, while others experienced sharp spikes, highlighting how personal health factors can influence glucose regulation from the start. Diabetic participants showed larger spikes than non-diabetics, indicating pre-existing insulin resistance.

Day 2

On Day 2, our data reveals a surprising trend: participants with moderately high BMIs actually experienced lower glucose spikes compared to both lower and very high BMI groups. This suggests that metabolic health is influenced by more than just BMI—factors like diet composition, muscle mass, and insulin sensitivity may play a significant role in glucose regulation.

Day 3

On Day 3, our data reveals that older participants tend to have larger glucose spikes compared to younger individuals. This suggests that with age, insulin sensitivity may decline, leading to slower glucose regulation. Younger participants generally experienced smaller fluctuations, potentially due to more efficient glucose metabolism and better insulin response.

Day 4

On Day 4, our data reveals a surprising trend: participants with moderate gut health had higher average glucose spikes than both those with poor and healthy gut microbiomes. This suggests that gut health does not follow a simple "better is always better" trend, while healthy gut microbiomes are linked to more stable glucose levels, moderate gut health may indicate microbiome variability that impacts glucose regulation.

Day 5

Our data shows trends that among non-diabetic and pre-diabetic participants, females tend to have lower average glucose spikes, whereas among those with type 2 diabetes, the opposite trend is observed.

Day 6

By Day 6, blood sugar responses differ significantly by diabetic status. Non-diabetic participants generally maintain lower and more stable glucose levels, while pre-diabetic and type 2 diabetic participants experience larger and more variable spikes. This suggests that underlying metabolic differences, including insulin resistance, play a key role in glucose regulation over time.

Day 7

Day 7 highlights a strong connection between poor gut health and sharp blood sugar spikes, especially for pre-diabetic participants. This suggests that managing gut health could be a critical step in maintaining stable glucose levels and reducing diabetes risk.

Day 8

On Day 8, glucose spikes start to follow clearer patterns, suggesting that some participants may be settling into a steady metabolic response. This could indicate that the body adapts to dietary patterns over time, leading to more predictable blood sugar control.

Day 9

The trends seen earlier repeat on Day 9, reinforcing the idea that blood sugar responses vary based on diabetic status and are further shaped by factors like BMI, gut health, and diet. Non-diabetic participants generally maintain lower and more stable glucose levels, while pre-diabetic and type 2 diabetic individuals continue to experience larger spikes. Additionally, individuals with consistent dietary habits show fewer fluctuations, while those with varying meals experience more irregular glucose patterns.

Day 10

The final day’s data confirms a strong link between gut health, BMI, and blood sugar control. Tracking these factors over time can provide valuable insight into long-term health, showing that maintaining a stable diet and a healthy gut microbiome can lead to better glucose management and possibly lower diabetes risk.

From Spikes to Bites: What's on your Plate?

Diet plays a very crucial role in this process as different foods affect glucose levels in unique ways. Everyone's body responds to food differently and can cause different levels of glucose spikes. By recognizing how fat, sugar, and carbohydrates impact blood sugar, we gain a better understanding of glucose patterns amongst different diabetic status. The next visualization explores these effects in more detail. Hover and click to filter to get a clearer understanding.

Protein Impact

Higher protein intake appears to have a moderate effect on glucose spikes across all groups.

Carbohydrate Impact

Carbohydrates show the strongest correlation with glucose spikes across all groups.

Fat Impact

Fat intake shows the weakest correlation with glucose spikes among all macronutrients.

Predict your Plate!

Now that you've learned about the importance of monitoring your glucose levels and the different factors that influence them, it's time to explore how you can apply this knowledge to your own health and diet. Using Machine Learning, we made a glucose spike predictor for your next meal. Enter your stats, and calculate! (don't worry, we won't steal your data.)

Calculate Your Glucose Spike

Personal Information
Most Recent Meal Macronutrients

Our Takeaway

The most surprising insight from our data is that glucose spikes cannot be attributed to a single, universal factor. Contrary to common assumptions, higher BMI or poor gut health do not always lead to larger spikes. Our visualizations reveal counterintuitive patterns: moderately high BMIs sometimes result in smaller spikes than very low or very high BMIs, and individuals with "middle" gut health can experience sharper glucose peaks than those at either extreme.

These unexpected trends are brought to life through our interactive, day-by-day scrolly charts, which allow users to toggle between diabetic statuses, track macro intakes, and observe how different factors interact over time. By focusing on specific macronutrients, the visualizations revealed underlying trends between different nutrients on glucose spike, while still showcasing their combined effects, demonstrating how individuals with nearly identical meals can have drastically different glucose responses.

This challenges the oversimplified view that blood sugar control depends on a single factor and highlights the need for personalized approaches to diet and health. Our charts not only make these complex dynamics visible but also empower users to explore their own unique path toward better glucose management.