The Glucose Never Lies® Podcast

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

  Suggest guests or get in contactHost: John Pemberton, RDGuest: Dr Laurel Messer, PhD, RN Epidose page - Detailed show notesEpisode 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 notesEpisode FAQ - Downlaod the best bits as Laurel answers the FAQ's For collaboration, partnerships, or press enquiries: John Pemberton — [email protected] For creative, social, and production enquiries: Anjanee Kohli — [email protected] 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

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

  Suggest guests or get in contactJoin 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  Chapters00:00 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 & reflectionsFor collaboration, partnerships, or press enquiries: John Pemberton — [email protected] For creative, social, and production enquiries: Anjanee Kohli — [email protected] 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

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

  Suggest guests or get in contactWhen 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 — [email protected] For creative, social, and production enquiries: Anjanee Kohli — [email protected] 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

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

  Suggest guests or get in contactProfessor 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 downloadHelp the GNL Podcast reman independent by buying the GNL a CoffeePartha 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 FrameworkS – 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 FrameworkGet the Full show notes and For collaboration, partnerships, or press enquiries: John Pemberton — [email protected] For creative, social, and production enquiries: Anjanee Kohli — [email protected] 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

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

  Suggest guests or get in contact19 – iCGM vs eCGM vs Standardisation by the IFCC: CGM Regulation with Dr. Guido FreckmannFull show notes and FAQ, and consider buying me a Coffee to keep pumpingContinuous 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 pumpingKey Themes & Watch-Outs🔹 CE Mark ≠ Quality StandardCE 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 OutdatedFDA iCGM rules set minimum standards, but study design criteria were vague.Devices can appear accurate by avoiding stressful glucose swings.🔹 Why Standardisation MattersStandardisation 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 DebateCapillary 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 ImpactDifferent 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 AheadCGM 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 — [email protected] For creative, social, and production enquiries: Anjanee Kohli — [email protected] 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

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