Foundations

Foundations Hub

This is the recommended starting point for type 1 diabetes on GNL. The rest of the site assumes this knowledge is already in place.

How to use this section

Type 1 diabetes only. Work through the sequence below. The order is recommended, but you can jump to what you need most right now.

Start with What is Type 1 diabetes? at the top of the sequence
Then follow the sequence through to Measuring success
Return to any part at any time as your understanding deepens

Browse the Foundations sequence

What is Type 1 diabetes?

The mechanism of autoimmune beta cell loss, why insulin is essential, and what glucose regulation looks like before and after diagnosis.

Explore What is Type 1 diabetes?

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)

How CGM works, what it measures, and why it is the central feedback tool for understanding glucose patterns in type 1 diabetes.

Explore CGM

Basal insulin

The role of background insulin, how it works across the day, and why getting basal right underpins everything else.

Explore basal insulin

Bolus insulin

How mealtime insulin works and what factors influence how much glucose it moves and how quickly.

Explore bolus insulin

Correction insulin

What correction doses are for, how insulin sensitivity factors work, and the role of insulin on board in safe correcting.

Explore correction insulin

Carbohydrate counting

Why carbohydrate has the greatest immediate impact on glucose, and how matching insulin to carbohydrate intake works in practice.

Explore carbohydrate counting

Three balanced meals

How meal structure, composition, and timing interact with insulin and glucose patterns across the day.

Explore three balanced meals

Hypoglycaemia

What hypoglycaemia is, why it happens, how the body responds on average, and what tends to help recovery.

Explore hypoglycaemia

Measuring success

What Time-in-Range, GMI, and other glucose metrics describe — and how to interpret them as a picture of patterns, not a scorecard.

Explore measuring success

Also in the Foundations section

What is Diabetes? — the broader context of diabetes types before focusing on type 1

The Foundations sequence is also available as a podcast episode: Episode 7 — Fundamentals of The Glucose Never Lies and as a YouTube video series.

What comes after Foundations?

Once the Foundations sequence is in place, the GNL Guides build on that base — covering self-discovery, experimentation, technology, and more. Progress comes from observing real glucose patterns, making small and safe changes, and adapting based on what actually happens.

Browse all GNL Guides Explore Dynamic Glucose Management