Why Glucose Matters When it Comes to Athletes

Your body stores glucose, ready to be burned the moment you start exercising, whether it's a long bike ride, a brisk jog or a refreshing swim.

When you're exercising, particularly for an extended period, your glucose will go up for a time.

"When someone is early in a workout — and they're exercising at high intensity — they'll actually see a rise in glucose. That's the body responding to the stress of the event," said Jim McCarter, medical affairs director for ��«����Ƶ.

That's how it starts, but not how it ends.

"Later in exercise — and especially in endurance exercise — as glycogen stores are depleted, glucose will begin to lower. And that’s especially important in long-distance endurance events," McCarter said.

Understanding real-time glucose levels can help athletes know what to consume and when, which helps improve muscle recovery and athletic performance, Swedish research shows.⁴ And athletes who understand the impact of what they eat and drink will have a better chance of improving their performance, according to an .

Putting these concepts to the test, cyclists from some of the top teams at the Tour de France, the world’s largest annual sporting event, wore our biosensor in training as part of an observational trial. This technology enabled the athletes to track their glucose data to help inform them when it may be time to refuel, as they prepared for the race.

"FreeStyle Libre changed the way millions of people manage their diabetes to get and stay healthier, and now we're bringing that same proven technology to empower athletes to help them reach their athletic performance goals," Watkin said.

��«����Ƶ's biosensor will be available in the coming weeks. It will initially be made available across eight European countries: Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

*Biosensor is designed to work with compatible partner mobile apps.

References

¹The biosensor is the world's first continuous glucose biosensor specifically designed for athletes; data on file, ��«����Ƶ.
²Data on file, ��«����Ƶ Diabetes Care. Data based on the number of users worldwide for the FreeStyle Libre system compared to the number of users for other leading personal use, sensor-based glucose monitoring systems.
³Raymond James Financial, Diabetes Deep-Dive: The Continued Evolution (and Acceptance) of New Diabetes Tech, February 2020.
⁴Olsson, J. 2016. Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, GIH, Department of Sport and Health Sciences. Swedish Elite Swimmers Blood Glucose Levels During Recovery: A Descriptive Study Using Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems.

This article was updated on March 8, 2024.