The Glucose Never Lies® Podcast

John Pemberton
  • 3.7 (3)
  • FITNESS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Host John Pemberton — diabetes educator, researcher, and dad living with type 1 since 2008 — explores how to think clearly about type 1 diabetes in the real world. Each episode translates current evidence and expert practice into decisions you can use: CGM accuracy and interpretation, getting more from pumps and automated insulin delivery, movement as a glucose tool, nutrition that protects performance and enjoyment, sleep, travel, parties, and sport. Guests include leading clinicians, researchers, and people with lived experience. Expect respectful challenge, plain language, and practical take-aways. Note: Educational only. No therapeutic relationship or personal medical advice. Buy the GNL a Coffee to keep us independent:  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jspfree2s Email: john@theglucoseneverlies.com 

  1. Ep. 26 – Building a Diabetes Community Through Vulnerability, Movement and Mindset (Diabetes with Mily)

    DEC 9

    Ep. 26 – Building a Diabetes Community Through Vulnerability, Movement and Mindset (Diabetes with Mily)

    Suggest guests or get in contact Host: John Pemberton, RD Guest: Diabetes with Milly (Milly) Episode page: Detailed show notes In this episode, Milly joins John to explore how real community forms when people with type 1 diabetes feel safe enough to be vulnerable. Diagnosed during lockdown and thrown into DKA in the final year of her biology degree, Milly rebuilt her life through movement, self-experimenting with strength training, discovering yoga, and eventually travelling alone to India for formal practice in breathwork, mindset and nervous-system regulation. What began as a personal diary on Instagram became Diabetes with Milly — a space where 10,000+ people find honesty, humour and connection, and where the Glucose Gals WhatsApp community now supports hundreds of women navigating type 1 diabetes, menstrual cycles, trauma echoes, and real-life blood glucose chaos. This conversation sits firmly “Beyond the Numbers”: the human reality of diagnosis, burnout, highs that trigger old trauma, rebuilding confidence, and how movement and mindfulness can reshape the emotional experience of living with the condition. Your community is not optional — it is protective infrastructure. What This Episode Covers Diagnosis in lockdown: DKA, isolation, and learning to manage T1D without real-world supportSport to strength training: using exercise as both therapy and educationYoga, India, breathwork and regulating the panic response during hyposTrauma memory: why highs can trigger the emotional weight of diagnosisBuilding an online presence through vulnerability, not perfectionCreating the Glucose Gals WhatsApp community (250+ women)Women’s health, menstrual cycles and why female physiology in T1D is so understudiedMilly’s plans for a new master’s → PhD in women’s exercise physiologyThe future: UK meet-ups, movement spaces, and combining strength + yoga for holistic T1D supportKey Insights Vulnerability builds community. People don’t gather around perfect numbers — they gather around honesty. Movement changes glucose, but also mindset. Strength training, yoga and breathwork each shape the physiological and emotional response to hypo/hyper stress. Trauma echoes are real. Diagnosis anniversaries, unexplained highs and body sensations can resurface early memories; normalising this reduces shame. Representation matters. Women with T1D need research that reflects menstrual cycles, hormonal phases and real-world fluctuations. People nee For collaboration, partnerships, or press enquiries: John Pemberton — john@theglucoseneverlies.com For creative, social, and production enquiries: Anjanee Kohli — anj@theglucoseneverlies.com Buy The Glucose Never Lies® a Coffee — help us stay independent and ad-free: We’re an independent, evidence-based platform — free from sponsorships and commercial bias. Your support helps us keep translating science into understanding. Follow The Glucose Never Lies® 🌐 Website 📸 Instagram 💼 LinkedIn 👤 LinkedIn — John Pemberton 🐦 X / Twitter © The Glucose Never Lies Ltd

    39 min
  2. 25 — Partying with T1D (Alcohol Edition)

    NOV 30

    25 — Partying with T1D (Alcohol Edition)

    Suggest guests or get in contact In this episode, John Pemberton and Dr Dessi Zaharieva open a transparent, evidence-based conversation about alcohol, nightlife, festivals, hypos, and harm-reduction for people living with Type 1 Diabetes. Full episode page  FAQ: Alcohol & Type 1 Diabetes Alcohol suppresses hepatic glucose output, disrupts REM sleep, increases overnight hypo risk, and affects metabolism differently across single-night and multi-day events. This episode walks through the mechanisms, the patterns, and the practical adjustments that help people stay safer. What we cover: • Alcohol’s effects on the liver and glucose release • Why glucagon often fails • Why memory disappears after drinking • Night-one vs multi-night physiology • Basal adjustments, Activity Mode, manual mode and MDI • Festival strategies and hypo prevention • How parents and clinicians can talk about alcohol without shame For collaboration, partnerships, or press enquiries: John Pemberton — john@theglucoseneverlies.com For creative, social, and production enquiries: Anjanee Kohli — anj@theglucoseneverlies.com Buy The Glucose Never Lies® a Coffee — help us stay independent and ad-free: We’re an independent, evidence-based platform — free from sponsorships and commercial bias. Your support helps us keep translating science into understanding. Follow The Glucose Never Lies® 🌐 Website 📸 Instagram 💼 LinkedIn 👤 LinkedIn — John Pemberton 🐦 X / Twitter © The Glucose Never Lies Ltd

    1h 9m
  3. 24 — Skincare, Sensors & Smarter AID Algorithms for Type 1 Diabetes

    NOV 23

    24 — Skincare, Sensors & Smarter AID Algorithms for Type 1 Diabetes

    Suggest guests or get in contact Host: John Pemberton, RD Guest: Dr Laurel Messer, PhD, RN  Epidose page - Detailed show notes Episode FAQ - Dr Messer answers the FAQ's (free Downlaod) In this episode, Dr Laurel Messer joins John to break down the real science behind skin integrity, sensor performance, and the hidden link between skincare and safer automation. Drawing on leading research from the Barbara Davis Center, the Panther Program, and international AID consensus work, this conversation reframes device wear as both a biological and behavioural skillset.   Your skin is not decoration — it is life-critical infrastructure. What This Episode Covers  Why device-related skin issues are common, predictable, and preventableMechanical vs chemical irritation, and how to distinguish both from allergic dermatitisThe “Soap–Water–Dry → Rotate → Low & Slow” skin-protection frameworkWhy skin damage leads to noisy CGM data and poor insulin absorptionHow to prepare skin for CGM and pump wear in children, teens, and adultsPractical barrier strategies: wipes, films, and hydrocolloidsUnderstanding Control-IQ: why the correction factor is the SUPERPOWERTime-block insulin tuning for evening surges, alcohol, illness, and real-lifeThe future of Tandem: Control-IQ+, Mobi, patch options, & Libre 3+ Key Insights  Skincare is diabetes care. Healthy skin leads to better signal quality, fewer dropouts, more predictable insulin delivery, and improved algorithm stability.  Rotation must be broader than most people think. Use 6–10 zones and give each at least a week off. Children need even more structure due to limited real estate.  Removal is where most damage occurs. Dr Messer emphasises a wound-care approach: oil-based loosening, supporting the skin, and folding adhesives back on themselves — never pulling upward.  Allergy and irritation are not the same problem. Irritation improves with barriers and technique; allergy is reproducible, blistering, intensely itchy, and requires dermatology support and sometimes device change.  Control-IQ’s performance hinge is the correction factor. Across 20,000+ users, strengthening the correction factor improved responsiveness and time-in-range without increasing hypoglycaemia.   Epidose page - Detailed show notes Episode FAQ - Downlaod the best bits as Laurel answers the FAQ's  For collaboration, partnerships, or press enquiries: John Pemberton — john@theglucoseneverlies.com For creative, social, and production enquiries: Anjanee Kohli — anj@theglucoseneverlies.com Buy The Glucose Never Lies® a Coffee — help us stay independent and ad-free: We’re an independent, evidence-based platform — free from sponsorships and commercial bias. Your support helps us keep translating science into understanding. Follow The Glucose Never Lies® 🌐 Website 📸 Instagram 💼 LinkedIn 👤 LinkedIn — John Pemberton 🐦 X / Twitter © The Glucose Never Lies Ltd

    1 hr
  4. 23 — From Diabetes Brunches to Bali by Creating a Type 1 Diabetes Community with Dr Temi Olonisakin

    OCT 28

    23 — From Diabetes Brunches to Bali by Creating a Type 1 Diabetes Community with Dr Temi Olonisakin

    Suggest guests or get in contact Join John Pemberton as he sits down with Dr Temi Olonisakin — the doctor who turned a lonely Type 1 diabetes diagnosis at 17 into a movement of connection, confidence, and pancakes. From small brunch tables in London to dreams of Bali gatherings, Temi’s story shows how joy, representation, and community can change what it means to live with diabetes. How one young doctor turned isolation into connection — building a joyful, inclusive community for people living with Type 1 diabetes. Diagnosed at 17, Temi knows the isolation that hits just as independence begins. Years later she began bringing people together — from one-to-one coffees to full-scale Diabetes Brunch Live events — mixing friendship, advocacy, and education with a healthy side of pancakes. It’s not about brunch. It’s about belonging, visibility, and joy. Say hello to Temi on Instagram @temidiabeticdoctor and join her for Brunch! Full show notes and links   Chapters 00:00 Diagnosed at 17 — the lonely years  05:30 First coffees → first brunch  12:20 From 9 to 26 — growth & facilitation  16:40 “Bottomless brunches” & normalising spikes  21:30 Brunch Abroad dreams  24:30 Beyond London — plans for the North  25:50 Doctoring & sustainable work  31:20 Advocacy wins — getting the right tech  38:30 Representation & equity  45:40 What services for teens miss  47:50 Wrap-up & reflections For collaboration, partnerships, or press enquiries: John Pemberton — john@theglucoseneverlies.com For creative, social, and production enquiries: Anjanee Kohli — anj@theglucoseneverlies.com Buy The Glucose Never Lies® a Coffee — help us stay independent and ad-free: We’re an independent, evidence-based platform — free from sponsorships and commercial bias. Your support helps us keep translating science into understanding. Follow The Glucose Never Lies® 🌐 Website 📸 Instagram 💼 LinkedIn 👤 LinkedIn — John Pemberton 🐦 X / Twitter © The Glucose Never Lies Ltd

    49 min
  5. 22 — From Diabetes Burnout to the CGM Access Blueprint — Kirsten de Klerk (South Africa)

    OCT 25

    22 — From Diabetes Burnout to the CGM Access Blueprint — Kirsten de Klerk (South Africa)

    Suggest guests or get in contact When sixteen-year-old Kirsten de Klerk was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, she asked how long she’d have to live like this. Her doctor replied, “Every day for the rest of your life.” Years later, that sentence became the fuel for change. Sign the CGM Access Petition: In less than one-minute, you can change global access to CGM forever. In this episode, John Pemberton talks with Kirsten about her journey from diabetes burnout to national advocacy, and how her work is now shaping a CGM Access Blueprint for South Africa — a model that could influence global policy. Episode 22: show notes and links and consider buying the GNL a Coffee to the podcast independent. They discuss: The emotional toll of diabetes burnout and the power of community.How the #LetterToMyDiabetes movement sparked a nationwide campaign.The reality of access inequality — 85 % of South Africans rely on public healthcare with only a few test strips a day.The creation of SA Diabetes Advocacy, gathering 14 000+ petition signatures for CGM funding.Why access without accuracy is false progress — and how unregulated devices put people at risk.Kirsten and John explore what happens when lived experience meets evidence, and how persistence — not privilege — drives real change. Together they outline three truths that every policymaker, clinician, and person with diabetes should understand: Not all CGMs are created equally. Some systems are clinically validated for insulin dosing; others are not. Price competition must not compromise safety.Inaccuracy harms you now. When CGMs fail to detect highs or lows, real people are put at immediate risk.Inaccuracy harms you later. CGMs that systematically under- or over-report glucose create false reassurance — “70% time-in-range on one device might be 60% on another.”Sign the CGM Access Petition: In less than one-minute, you can change global access to CGM forever. Links & Resources: 🌍 Sign the CGM Access Petition (South Africa) 📊 DSN Forum UK – CGM Comparison Chart 🔬 For collaboration, partnerships, or press enquiries: John Pemberton — john@theglucoseneverlies.com For creative, social, and production enquiries: Anjanee Kohli — anj@theglucoseneverlies.com Buy The Glucose Never Lies® a Coffee — help us stay independent and ad-free: We’re an independent, evidence-based platform — free from sponsorships and commercial bias. Your support helps us keep translating science into understanding. Follow The Glucose Never Lies® 🌐 Website 📸 Instagram 💼 LinkedIn 👤 LinkedIn — John Pemberton 🐦 X / Twitter © The Glucose Never Lies Ltd

    57 min
  6. 21 — Partha Kar’s SPARK: Transforming diabetes care using his “Five-to-Drive-Change”

    OCT 19

    21 — Partha Kar’s SPARK: Transforming diabetes care using his “Five-to-Drive-Change”

    Suggest guests or get in contact Professor Partha Kar joins The Glucose Never Lies® Podcast to unpack how the UK moved from research to reality in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and hybrid closed-loop systems (AID) — and how the same approach can be applied to any challenge in life or leadership. Through openness, accountability, and courage, Partha helped create one of the fastest national tech adoptions in healthcare history. At the centre of that journey sits a practical philosophy anyone can use: the S-P-A-R-K Mindset, his Five-to-Drive-Change Framework. It’s not just about diabetes care — it’s about how you make things happen. Get the Full show notes and SPARK download Help the GNL Podcast reman independent by buying the GNL a Coffee Partha Kar on what matters: Implementation is where science becomes realSocial media can be a listening system and an accountability engine.Accountability ≠ blame — transparency builds trust.Equity starts with measuring bias and publishing it.Language and leadership shape safety.Every change starts with a SPARK. The S-P-A-R-K Mindset — Five-to-Drive-Change Framework S – Start small, prove it locally Change begins in your patch. Pilot, test, measure. Evidence beats opinion. P – Put your skin in the game If you believe in it, stand behind it. Take the risk, own the outcome. A – Accountability, not blame Use data to shine a light — RAG ratings, heat maps — but keep language neutral. Data should nudge, not shame. R – Reveal through listening True leadership starts with the community. Listen first; understand before you act. K – Keep language human Words shape behaviour. Talk with people, not at them. Better language builds safer systems. Chapters ·        00:00 The CGM Journey: From Science to Street ·        04:15 Harnessing Social Media for Change ·        09:19 Accountability Without Blame ·        14:29 Implementation Science in Action ·        19:59 The Future of Diabetes Care ·        20:54 Seeing Bias in the Data ·        23:41 Paediatric Equality — Closing the Gap ·        25:10 Peer Learning from Sweden ·        28:00 Physician Associates — Safety and Scope ·        31:45 Patient Safety and Accuracy in Tech ·        35:35 Skin in the Game — Leadership With Consequences ·        37:57 SPARK Recap — Five-to-Drive Framework Get the Full show notes and For collaboration, partnerships, or press enquiries: John Pemberton — john@theglucoseneverlies.com For creative, social, and production enquiries: Anjanee Kohli — anj@theglucoseneverlies.com Buy The Glucose Never Lies® a Coffee — help us stay independent and ad-free: We’re an independent, evidence-based platform — free from sponsorships and commercial bias. Your support helps us keep translating science into understanding. Follow The Glucose Never Lies® 🌐 Website 📸 Instagram 💼 LinkedIn 👤 LinkedIn — John Pemberton 🐦 X / Twitter © The Glucose Never Lies Ltd

    43 min
  7. 20 — Standardization of Testing CGM Performance: The Nuts and Bolts with Stefan Pleus of the IFCC

    SEP 30

    20 — Standardization of Testing CGM Performance: The Nuts and Bolts with Stefan Pleus of the IFCC

    Suggest guests or get in contact Episode 20 — Standardization of Testing CGM Performance: The Nuts and Bolts With Dr. Stefan Pleus (Institut für Diabetes-Technologie, Universität Ulm; Chair of the IFCC Working Group on CGM). Full show notes and FAQ, and consider buying me a Coffee to keep pumping. In this episode, we go deep into the future of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) standards. Dr. Pleus explains why the FDA iCGM framework (2018) is no longer enough, what a robust international standard would look like, and why ISO standardisation by 2030 is essential if CGM is to: Be a reliable basis for insulin dosingAct as a trusted comparator in clinical trialsEnable screening and early diagnosis of type 1 diabetesProvide consistency across devices for people with diabetesKey insights from Stefan Pleus: Study design matters: if you avoid rapid glucose changes, results look good — but that’s not real life.Stress-testing requires minimum data in low, high, and rapid-change zones.Every comparator has bias: retrospective correction is essential to align results across manufacturers.With better study designs, today’s systems may appear less accurate — but only because we’re finally testing them properly.Global alignment between FDA and Europe is needed; without it, innovation risks stalling.Why this matters:  Without standardisation, insulin dosing, clinical trials, and diagnostics will remain inconsistent across devices. The 2030 opportunity is a global, reproducible framework that ensures fairness for users, clarity for clinicians, and valid results for researchers. Full show notes and FAQ, and consider buying me a Coffee to keep pumping. For collaboration, partnerships, or press enquiries: John Pemberton — john@theglucoseneverlies.com For creative, social, and production enquiries: Anjanee Kohli — anj@theglucoseneverlies.com Buy The Glucose Never Lies® a Coffee — help us stay independent and ad-free: We’re an independent, evidence-based platform — free from sponsorships and commercial bias. Your support helps us keep translating science into understanding. Follow The Glucose Never Lies® 🌐 Website 📸 Instagram 💼 LinkedIn 👤 LinkedIn — John Pemberton 🐦 X / Twitter © The Glucose Never Lies Ltd

    58 min
  8. 19 – iCGM vs eCGM vs Standardisation by the IFCC: CGM Regulation with Dr. Guido Freckmann

    SEP 30

    19 – iCGM vs eCGM vs Standardisation by the IFCC: CGM Regulation with Dr. Guido Freckmann

    Suggest guests or get in contact 19 – iCGM vs eCGM vs Standardisation by the IFCC: CGM Regulation with Dr. Guido Freckmann Full show notes and FAQ, and consider buying me a Coffee to keep pumping Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has transformed diabetes care — but how do we know which systems are accurate, safe, and truly comparable?  In this episode, John Pemberton is joined by Dr. Guido Freckmann (Institute of Diabetes Technology, Ulm; former chair of the IFCC CGM Working Group). Together they unpack:  Why CE marking in Europe is not a quality standardHow the FDA’s iCGM framework (2018) was groundbreaking, but has limitations in study designWhy the proposed eCGM model for Europe risks monopolising the market without fixing accuracy problemsThe IFCC’s roadmap towards a full ISO standard for CGM – robust, reproducible, and aligned with clinical realityFull Show notes and FAQ, and consider buying me a Coffee to keep pumping Key Themes & Watch-Outs 🔹 CE Mark ≠ Quality Standard CE marking is a regulatory pathway, not a guarantee of performance.Manufacturers can submit selective data, and the results are not public.🔹 ICGM (2018): A Step Forward, But Outdated FDA iCGM rules set minimum standards, but study design criteria were vague.Devices can appear accurate by avoiding stressful glucose swings.🔹 Why Standardisation Matters Standardisation would define not just performance metrics but also how studies are run.It would align CGM systems to the same comparator (capillary or venous) and reduce therapy discrepancies.🔹 Capillary vs Venous Debate Capillary glucose reflects what people actually test and what their bodies are exposed to.Venous alignment risks giving a “false reassurance” of being in range.An agreement is needed: whichever is chosen must be standardised, with bias correction.🔹 Clinical Impact Different CGMs can give the same time-in-range but very different HbA1c and complication risk.That undermines trust, confuses therapy adjustments, and makes clinical trial endpoints unreliable.🔹 Looking Ahead CGM standardisation is in motion, but likely won’t be implemented before 2030.Until then, clinicians and people with diabetes need to scrutinise study design and remain critical of performance claimsFor collaboration, partnerships, or press enquiries: John Pemberton — john@theglucoseneverlies.com For creative, social, and production enquiries: Anjanee Kohli — anj@theglucoseneverlies.com Buy The Glucose Never Lies® a Coffee — help us stay independent and ad-free: We’re an independent, evidence-based platform — free from sponsorships and commercial bias. Your support helps us keep translating science into understanding. Follow The Glucose Never Lies® 🌐 Website 📸 Instagram 💼 LinkedIn 👤 LinkedIn — John Pemberton 🐦 X / Twitter © The Glucose Never Lies Ltd

    29 min
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Ratings & Reviews

3.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Host John Pemberton — diabetes educator, researcher, and dad living with type 1 since 2008 — explores how to think clearly about type 1 diabetes in the real world. Each episode translates current evidence and expert practice into decisions you can use: CGM accuracy and interpretation, getting more from pumps and automated insulin delivery, movement as a glucose tool, nutrition that protects performance and enjoyment, sleep, travel, parties, and sport. Guests include leading clinicians, researchers, and people with lived experience. Expect respectful challenge, plain language, and practical take-aways. Note: Educational only. No therapeutic relationship or personal medical advice. Buy the GNL a Coffee to keep us independent:  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jspfree2s Email: john@theglucoseneverlies.com 

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