5 top tips from the Glucose Goddess Jessie Inchauspé, star of new Channel 4 series

It’s a message the French biochemist hopes will hit home in her new Channel 4 series, which challenges people with problems ranging from weight gain to acne and psoriasis to see if following her rules on regulating blood sugar levels and removing harmful cravings for just six weeks makes a difference.

Inchauspé’s path to bestselling author and influencer began 13 years ago when, aged 19, she broke her back jumping off a waterfall on holiday in Hawaii. Her vertebrae fractured into 13 pieces, and her prolonged recovery proved to be both physically and mentally painful. "I had this horrible condition called depersonalisation, which is a feeling of literally being terrified of being alive, not understanding why you have a body, having panic attacks as soon as I looked in the mirror," she says. "It was horrendous.’"

While her back eventually healed following surgery, the experience prompted Inchauspé, who was studying for a maths degree in London at the time, to better understand her physiology. "I realised health should be my number one priority," she says.

Inchauspé focused on biochemistry and genetics, completing a master’s degree in biochemistry. In 2018 she tried out a glucose monitor: “I saw that I had these big glucose spikes which would trigger depersonalisation episodes,’’ she says. ‘‘It was so shocking, because in six years of struggling, nobody had said that my food could actually impact my mental health. That’s when I started fixing my food.’’

After two years “fixing herself”, Inchauspé put her simple hacks on Instagram. ‘‘I had this fire in me,’’ she recalls. “I thought I might get to a few thousand followers.” Six years later, the Glucose Goddess has a five million-strong fanbase on the social media platform. “It’s been a crazy journey,’’ she says.

Not everyone is sold. Inchauspé has been criticised for selling a supplement on her website that she claims steadies glucose levels; for making generalisations based on her own experience; and for encouraging people to focus on glucose spikes that may be perfectly normal.

‘‘Small spikes are normal,’’ she says. ‘‘But spikes that are really high are not, and they are detrimental to health. I think when people criticise me, they just don’t fully understand the message. Often they think, ‘Oh, she’s an Instagram influencer,’ but I’m 100 per cent confident in my methods. They’re based on science.’’

Inchauspé acknowledges that however good people’s intentions may be, they are bombarded on all sides by sugar-saturated goods and advertising. “I’d love to see the Government bring in industry-wide requirements that limit, say, the amount of the sugar in a pot of yogurt. It has to apply to all manufacturers, because if one food company is trying to do better, consumers are going to go to the next food company. It has to be a joint effort.’’

Alongside recipes, much of Inchauspé’s work is based on simple explanations of the science behind her methods, including easy-to-understand graphs demonstrating the effects of glucose on the body. “I see myself as a science communicator, taking studies by scientists across the world and making them accessible to people to show them that glucose levels matter for everybody. My hacks are easy and they work.”

More than anything, she wants people to understand that eating well doesn’t need to be a full-time job. “It’s not a diet you can fail at,” she insists. “Do this when you remember and when it’s easy. Don’t get stressed out when you can’t do them or forget. Every bit helps.’’

The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here.

Eat Smart: Secrets of the Glucose Goddess begins on Tuesday 7th January at 8pm on Channel 4.

Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.