October 30, 2023
Scientists have found that it’s not just the type of foods you eat that can influence your health and metabolism—but the order in which you eat them, reports The Washington Post.
A growing number of studies have found that eating fiber-rich vegetables, protein, or fat at the start of a meal— and eating refined carbohydrates like rice, bread or pasta last—can improve blood sugar levels and stimulate higher levels of hormones that promote fullness and satiety.
Some preliminary studies suggest it may even help with weight loss.
This strategy, known as food order or meal sequencing, runs counter to the way people often eat. It suggests that it’s better to reach for the basket of bread or chips at the end of a meal rather than eating these high-carb, low-fiber foods at the beginning.
The recent studies on food sequencing have been small but rigorous. They have found that starting meals with protein, fat, or fiber-rich vegetables instead of high-glycemic carbs that spike blood sugar levels tends to slow down the digestive process. It reduces the speed at which food leaves your stomach and enters your small intestine, a process known as gastric emptying, which makes you feel fuller longer.
“We’re not asking people to fast, skip meals, or avoid specific kinds of foods,” says Domenico Tricò, assistant professor at the University of Pisa in Italy, who studies nutrition and diabetes. “We’re just saying, please eat low glycemic foods at the beginning of the meal and then eat the rest at the end.”
Studies show that eating vegetables first can cause your body to secrete higher levels of GLP-1, a satiety hormone that our guts release in response to meals. (GLP-1 is the same hormone that the popular weight loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic are designed to mimic). This strategy can also help prevent large and sustained elevations in blood sugar levels after meals, some studies suggest.
In one study in Japan, where rice is a dietary staple, researchers found that people with Type 2 diabetes who were instructed to eat vegetables before carbohydrates at every meal for a period of two years had greater improvements in their long-term blood sugar control compared to a control group.
In other studies, Daisuke Yabe, an endocrinologist, looked at what happened when healthy adults and people with Type 2 diabetes ate meals of white rice, fish, and meat—but in different orders on different occasions. He found that the subjects had a significantly slower rate of digestion when they were told to eat the fish or meat portions of their meals first and the rice portions last, compared to eating the rice first.
Among the suggestions for healthy eating are the following:
- Eat nuts first. Consider having a small handful of almonds, which contain fiber and healthy fats, before eating a bagel or muffin for breakfast. A study found that people who were assigned to eat about 20 grams of almonds (less than one handful) before their daily meals over 16 weeks significantly lowered their body fat, including the dangerous visceral fat that surrounds internal organs, compared to a control group. Another study foundthat eating an almond “appetizer” or “preload” (about half an ounce, or roughly 12 almonds) before meals improved blood sugar responses in people with prediabetes.
- Start with a salad dressed with olive oil. If you’re going to eat fast carbs for lunch or dinner (such as pasta, or a turkey sandwich on white bread), preload with a salad. It contains heart-healthy fats and fiber, which can slow digestion, improve blood sugar levels and promote satiety. “
- Eat your vegetables and protein portions first.In a small study in the journal Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that when people were fed meals of chicken, vegetables, and white rice, they produced high levels of satiety hormones and had smaller and more gradual elevations in blood sugar compared to when they ate these foods mixed together or in different orders.
- Limit your intake of high-glycemic foods. That doesn’t mean you should never eat french fries, white bread, potato chips, or mashed potatoes, says Mario Kratz, a former clinical researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and the founder of Nourished by Science, a website that promotes evidence-based nutrition for the prevention of chronic disease. But ideally, they shouldn’t be a part of your everyday meals. “In most cases they’re not nutritionally valuable foods anyway,” he added.
- Don’t eat “naked” carbs. These are simple carbs that are eaten with little or no fat, protein, or fiber. Some examples would be toast with jam, a plate of crackers or tortilla chips, or a bowl of sugary breakfast cereal with nonfat milk. Because these foods are rapidly absorbed and digested, they can cause your blood sugar to spike and plummet, creating a cycle of hunger and cravings. Ideally, you should pair these foods with healthy fats, protein, and fiber. You can do this, for example, by spreading peanut butter on your toast, eating your crackers with cheese and almonds, or dipping your chips in guacamole.
Christiani Jeyakumar Henry, a professor of biochemistry at the National University of Singapore, says the strategy of eating vegetables before refined carbs may be particularly useful in countries with rising diabetes rates where rice is also a staple.
“For every diabetic anywhere in the world, there are two or three undiagnosed prediabetics on their way to becoming diabetic if they don’t control their blood glucose levels,” he notes.
Kratz cautioned that the “carbs last” strategy is not always practical, but most people can pair simple carbs with healthy fats, protein. or fiber.
“You shouldn’t be totally obsessing, because, if you do, you’ll just end up cutting out all carbs,” Kratz said. “The key is to find ways that you can modify your meals a little so they’re still culturally acceptable while also reducing the extent to which they are naked carbs. I think for most people that’s the way to go.”
Research contact: @washingtonpost
