First steps with the simulation
First things first: this site has a lot of text, but the interesting part is the interactive metabolic simulations. These are all found under “Simulation” and “Analysis” in the menu.
On almost every interactive page there is a guided tour that introduces the features. The tour starts automatically on your first visit to a page, and can be restarted at any time on subsequent visits using the 🧠compass icon in the top right.
Directly below the compass, many interactive pages have a second button with a “?”. This opens an explanatory text on the page with additional descriptions. So orientation and deeper exploration are always available.
But what is the best order to explore things in?
1. Simulation
Start with the interactive simulation. Start the simulation, watch the growing chart, and click on different meals. You can then observe the simulated effect on blood sugar levels and the resulting insulin response.
Once the simulation has finished (after 16 simulated hours) or when you pause it, you can change your profile under “Parameters”: “Healthy” is the default, with “Pre-diabetic” and “T2 Diabetes” also available. You can also show a comparison curve.
2. Simulate a Full Day
Under “Day Plans” you will find a list of day plans that you can simulate directly. First you need to make the “sample days” your own: pick one and copy it. When copying, you can also specify a calorie target — portion sizes will be scaled accordingly. If you like, you can create your own plan from scratch — but starting with a copy of an example is quicker.
Once you have your own day in the directory, you can inspect and edit it (with the pencil icon) or simulate it (with the “Play” button).
3. Personalise Your Metabolic Profile
To get personalised analyses, you should create your own metabolic profile. You will find this under “Metabolic Profiles”. Start from one of the 3 suggested profiles. For “Fasting glucose”, please consult your doctor or pharmacist ;). Fasting insulin is not available at the pharmacy — and not every doctor is keen on testing it. You can also estimate it: with a long “standard” diet high in carbohydrates, the value is often already slightly elevated. More than 150g of carbohydrates per day counts as “a lot” in this context — especially over a long period of time. The same applies to insulin sensitivity. To put it simply: 100% is the normal value, Type 2 diabetes means significantly reduced sensitivity. Sensitivity starts declining years before a T2D or pre-diabetes diagnosis, though. Lower sensitivity typically also means higher fasting insulin levels.
Once you have created your own profile, you can enter additional biometric values. Some of these are already used in the analysis; others are not yet. All entries are optional. Here you can also indicate whether you use insulin injections — but I will leave that aside for these first steps.
4. Explore the Projections
Projections are analyses of day plans paired with a metabolic profile. Here you get an assessment of what a particular diet does to a model body.
Please note that the simulation is not yet calibrated — it shows what this site aims to provide in future. The simulation already includes some directional estimates (is this diet more likely to lead to weight gain or loss? Does it tend towards T2 diabetes / insulin resistance, or not?)
5. Create an Account
If you would like to see your results again on your next visit: create an account. You do not need any personal data for this — not even an email address — just a username. On your next visit you can sign back in and your metabolic profile will still be there.
You can also modify day plans, create your own meals, and revisit previous projections on future visits.
