The Glucose Never Lies®
The Glucose Never Lies® Podcast is brought to you by John Pemberton, together with Chad, his innovation partner who helps turn ideas into production. Behind the scenes, the creative team brings research, stories, and lived experiences of type 1 diabetes into an accessible format — combining science, storytelling, and strategy to help people live better with diabetes.
About Me
I’m John Pemberton — dad, husband, diabetes dietitian, researcher, and someone who’s lived with type 1 diabetes since 2008.
This podcast is my way of giving back. When my son Jude tested positive for type 1 diabetes antibodies, everything changed. I knew I had to act quickly and create a resource that was both comprehensive and easy to understand, so that anyone who might one day help manage his diabetes would feel supported. That’s how The Glucose Never Lies started — as an education platform to support my son’s future care.
Fortunately, his confirmatory test came back negative — but this doesn’t rule him, or my daughter, out. And since I was diagnosed at 27, I know just how real that risk can be.
The last two years have been the hardest of my life — battling depression, a functional motor disorder, and finally receiving an ADHD diagnosis. My journey back to health was made possible by the incredible support of my family, friends, and the wider diabetes community.
That experience taught me the power of giving. Written guides don’t work for everyone, but podcasts bring information to life in a real and relatable way. So that’s why I started this podcast — to make diabetes management engaging, practical, and fun.
I’ve been fortunate to work alongside some of the world’s leading researchers and thought leaders in type 1 diabetes, and I bring them onto the show to share their research, their stories, and their innovations.
You’ll also hear from people living with type 1 diabetes who are doing amazing things, and from advocates and clinicians shaping the future of diabetes care.
Here you’ll find guides, reflections, and conversations on everything from partying with T1D, continuous glucose monitoring and automated insulin delivery, to nutrition, exercise, insulin resistance, and childhood diabetes care.
Just to be clear — this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It’s not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare team before making any changes to your management.
I’m glad you’re here. Let’s get started.
The Glucose Never Lies®
10: CGM Accuracy (Part 1) "Study Design First, Performance After"
In this episode of the Glucose Never Lies podcast, hosts John Pemberton and Louise delve into the intricacies of diabetes management, focusing on continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems. They discuss the importance of understanding CGM accuracy, the significance of study design in evaluating sensor performance, and the key questions to ask when assessing the reliability of these devices. The conversation emphasises the need for robust testing conditions to ensure that CGMs provide accurate readings for insulin dosing decisions. The hosts also highlight the ongoing efforts towards standardisation in CGM technology to improve diabetes care.
Takeaways
- Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are crucial for insulin dosing decisions.
- Understanding study design is essential for evaluating CGM accuracy.
- Not all CGMs are created equal; performance varies significantly.
- Key questions to assess CGM accuracy include the study population and testing conditions.
- Robust testing conditions are necessary for reliable sensor performance.
- The importance of peer-reviewed data in evaluating CGM accuracy.
- Standardization in CGM technology is on the horizon.
- Healthcare professionals should be knowledgeable about CGM performance.
- A downloadable chart will be available to help users assess CGM options.
Chapters
00:00
Introduction to Diabetes Management
02:14
Understanding Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)
05:11
Accuracy of Continuous Glucose Monitors
10:13
Evaluating Sensor Performance
15:45
Key Questions for Sensor Accuracy
20:31
Moving Towards Standardization in CGM
25:03
Summary and Next Steps
Key Resources
CGM Series: Understanding Risk Before Performance
Chart for CGM Devices (From May 2025): DSN Forum
Tim Street @ Diabettech
