What makes Levels different?

Improving your metabolic health is one of the most effective ways to feel better day-to-day and reduce your risk of long-term disease. 

Blood sugar, or glucose, is one key metric of metabolic health and one of the only internal markers we can measure in real-time. So it’s also the most actionable and in our control.

But that requires two things: Accessing continuous glucose monitors (CGM) to give you that real-time view, and making sense of the sensor’s data in a way that connects to your daily life.

Here are four reasons Levels is the best way to address both of those needs and help you achieve optimal metabolic health to reach your goals. 

1. Levels is rigorously science- and research-based

Metabolic health is incredibly complex, encompassing every cell in your body and hundreds of individual processes and reactions. So the science of metabolic health is neither simple nor settled, particularly for people not diagnosed with a condition. That’s why Levels has been committed since day one to constant learning and iterating our product to reflect what we know (and what we don’t).

For example, there’s still not enough large-scale research on what constitutes “normal” or healthy glucose fluctuations in a general population. However, we do know the physiological consequences of repeated severe spikes and chronic high glucose: conditions like prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. So, our app’s target glucose range is built on a careful examination of the existing research and consultation from the metabolic experts on our advisory board.

But we also recognize that optimal metabolic health is about more than today’s glucose curve. So we show you several metrics beyond your current reading, including average glucose, spike time, waking glucose, as well as other blood markers [more on that below].

In short, Levels is committed to ensuring that our guidance is built on robust research and data (not the latest health or diet fads) and to moving the field of metabolic health forward.

Levels Advantages:

• Our Advisors are among the world’s foremost experts on metabolic health, including: 
  – Dr. Mark Hyman, founder of the Functional Medicine Center at Cleveland Clinic and multiple best-selling author
  – Dr. Rob Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist whose research and advocacy influence governments and institutions on food and health policy
  – Dr. Gerald Shulman, who’s done ground-breaking research on insulin resistance for decades
  – Dr. David Sinclair, who leads longevity research at Harvard Medical School
  – Dr. Terry Wahls, who reversed her own multiple sclerosis by improving her metabolic health
  – Also: Ben Bikman, PhD; Dr. Rangan Chatterjee; Dom D’Agostino, PhD; Dr. Sara Gottfried; Dr. Molly Maloof; Dr. David Perlmutter
• Our metabolic health education site, Metabolic Insights, contains more than 500 articles based on primary research, written by professional science and health journalists, and independently fact-checked and medically reviewed. It’s the most comprehensive resource on the internet for what metabolic health is and how you can improve yours. 
• We’re running the largest-of-its-kind independent-review-board (IRB) authorized clinical study on glucose patterns in a general population. This unique dataset will inform future research to advance our collective understanding of metabolic health.

2. Levels focuses on your long-term health

Maintaining optimal metabolic health and stable and healthy glucose levels is not a hack. It’s not a one-time goal, like hitting a PR in a marathon. It’s more like being a runner. It’s a way of living so that you feel better today and reduce your risk of disease tomorrow. 

That’s why what Levels provides is about so much more than food or individual glucose events. It’s why we emphasize trends, learning, and long-term metrics over the course of months and years. Success here isn’t one great day; it’s about figuring out how to incorporate the basic tenets of good health into your life sustainably: A diet built on whole foods, a good night’s sleep, frequent movement, minimizing stress. 

When it comes to diet, Levels will never tell you to “Go keto!” or follow this or that particular diet. Instead, our dietary philosophy suggests favoring whole, nutrient-dense foods over processed junk; minimizing drinking sugar (juice or soda) or eating heaps of sugar, even in natural forms like honey; and continuous learning and exploring to find what works best for your unique physiology. 

Levels Advantages: 

• We offer Levels Labs, a metabolic blood testing service that measures five key markers beyond glucose that give you a more holistic picture of your progress.
• We give you tips and suggestions that help you build long-term, sustainable habits that span diet, exercise, and sleep.
• We surface long-term data in the app and show you trends up to 90 days for several metrics, including average glucose, stable hours, steps, and sleep.

3. Levels works for your schedule and goals

Achieving metabolic health goals looks different for everyone.

Maybe you’re trying to find a way to manage weight that works long-term. For you, continuously wearing CGMs to hold yourself accountable may be the key to success. 

Maybe you’re trying to improve your daily energy, so you need a month of learning to find the foods driving your afternoon slump, with the occasional check-in to find more glucose-stable options.

Maybe you’re trying to stave off a family history of metabolic disease, so you could use quarterly CGMs and bloodwork to keep your markers in check. 

Just like there’s no one-size-fits-all diet, there’s no universal plan for optimizing your metabolic health. That’s why Levels offers the most flexibility for managing your journey. 

Levels Advantages:

• We offer a choice of the latest, most advanced, most accurate, and most comfortable CGM options. Switch sensors anytime to find what works best for you.
• Choose the CGM delivery cadence that works for you, with no penalty for less frequent use. Order new sensors any time.
• Our Levels Labs blood testing can be done at home for about half the US population and as a simple walk-in to a local lab for everyone else.

4. Levels is mission-driven

Since former SpaceX engineer Josh Clemente, Stanford-trained MD Casey Means, and our other cofounders started Levels in 2019, the mission has remained “Reverse the metabolic health crisis.” And have no doubt, it is a crisis:

• Eight of the 10 leading causes of death are related to high glucose.
• 93% of adults have at least one marker of metabolic dysfunction.
• Rates of diabetes and fatty liver disease among children are growing.
• One in three adults has prediabetes, and most don’t even know it.

Aligning behind that big, ambitious mission means we’re not in this for a quick buck or to serve a small slice of people. Levels goal is to ensure that as many people as possible understand that metabolic health matters and that they can improve it.

Levels advantages:

• Levels invests heavily in education—not just on our research-backed blog but also with dozens of interviews with leading researchers on our YouTube channel and podcast.
• Our chief medical officer, Dr. Casey Means, has appeared on more than 100 podcasts—from Bari Weiss to Shawn Stevenson—to explain and evangelize metabolic health.
• By expanding demand for CGM, Levels aims to make it a more accessible and affordable technology for people with and without diagnosed metabolic conditions.

Conclusion

Whether you’re just curious about your afternoon energy slump, looking for a way to manage weight, or trying to take action on a recent diagnosis, the Levels team is committed to helping you reach your goals, using the latest research, our expert advisors, and insights gleaned from working with our 50,000+ members.