bBefore the pandemic, Barbara Senich, a retiree from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was diagnosed with prediabetes, meaning her blood sugar levels put her at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The source of that sugar in blood were sweet foods, cereals and other carbohydrates. She says she thought about them every 30 seconds, which led her to snack constantly.
Today, you have reduced your cravings and your blood sugar in part by changing the way you eat. But Senich didn’t abandon carbohydrates. He changed the order in which he has them.
Researchers have recently found who eat certain foods like no starch vegetables before Carbs can result in lower, healthier blood sugar compared to consuming carbs first. Especially at breakfast, these vegetable starters also suppress hormones that cause hunger for the whole day.
Carbohydrates are not inherently bad. They are the main source of energy for the nervous system and provide fiber that helps digestion and reduce cholesterol levels. Although carbohydrates are found in some unhealthy foods (think French fries), they are also abundant in healthy options like fruits, lentils, and unprocessed beans that fuel the brain and muscles. However, with some carbohydrate-rich foods, blood sugar levels, also known as glucose, can go higher than the ideal range especially if eaten alone and in excess. When these spikes occur frequently over the years, our cells stop responding to insulin, the hormone that normally tells cells to take in glucose to use for energy. This problem, called insulin resistance, causes sugar to build up in the blood, a defining characteristic of diabetes.
About 1 in 3 Americans, or 98 million, have prediabetes and more than 80% don’t know it. Many will develop type 2 diabetes, which could lead to nerve damage, vision loss and shortened lives.
But by changing the order in which you eat foods, it is possible to consume carbohydrates and also have a healthy blood sugar level. It’s free and “doesn’t require superhuman willpower,” Senich says.
Why it works
When we eat vegetables first, their fiber creates a filter in the intestines. Once carbohydrates arrive on the scene, the filter slows them down, like sand trapping floodwater, so glucose enters the bloodstream in a simple trickle rather than a gush. Less insulin is needed for our cells to absorb these drips, which puts less pressure on the pancreas. “The totality of the research strongly supports the idea that food sequencing reduces glucose spikes after a meal,” says Dr. Alpana Shukla, an associate research professor at Weill Cornell Medicine who studies food order.
The strategy could have that. greater reward in people with prediabetes and diabetes simply because they have higher glucose levels to begin with. But those with normal blood sugar levels also see benefits. In one studyWhen healthy people left the rice for last, their glucose spikes were significantly low than when they ate rice before meat and vegetables. Over time, more stable glucose could help prevent serious illness.
Read more: Your Diet Needs More Fermented Pickles
Another win-win is that when you eat vegetables first, you tend to eat more, compared to loading up on carbs before eating vegetables. Many Americans are vitamin deficiency and, on average, we consume 10 to 15 grams of fiber per day, while ours the ancestors enjoyed about 100 grams. Changing the order “tends to favor more nutrient-dense foods,” Shukla says, “which is good whether you have health problems or want to prevent them.”
How to have vegetable starters
Try eating a vegetable 10 minutes before eating carbs, although you’ll still see some benefits without taking any breaks before carbs, says Shukla. Noosheen Hashemi, founder and CEO of the health tracking company. January AI, keeps your blood sugar levels healthy by carrying vegetables such as broccoli, fennel or peppers in your bag to restaurants, anticipating dishes rich in carbohydrates. “I bring vegetables,” she says. (TIME owner Marc Benioff is an investor in January AI.)
You don’t have to eat the vegetables alone to get the benefits. Combine vegetables and proteins before carbohydrates results.results in 46% lower glucose spikes, compared to carbohydrates first, in people with prediabetes. According to Shukla, this combination may work a little better than vegetables alone.
Another benefit: feeling full for three hours after a meal, because starters with vegetables and protein suppress a hormone called ghrelin that causes hunger. As a result, we may consume fewer calories. When people eat the same food in reverse order, with carbohydrates first, this hormone ghrelin bounces much higher at the three hour mark.
Read Further: Why is popping a pimple so bad?
Eat carbs last appears another hormone, GLP-1, which slows the rate at which the stomach delivers food to the intestines, further easing the burden on our insulin systems. This effect of GLP-1 forms the basis of successful weight loss drugs, such as Ozempic, which are gaining popularity. “You can harness your own GLP-1 and boost it through this intervention,” Shukla says.
Food ordering can be especially useful at breakfast. After not eating overnight, glucose at mealtime may rise more than during lunch or dinner, Shukla says. Start breakfast with a vegetable omelet, she suggests. Mix plenty of vegetables with the egg protein before finishing with your carbohydrate, multigrain toast.
“We know that ordering meals throughout the day has an impact,” says Sarah Berry, associate professor of nutritional sciences at King’s College London and chief scientist at the personalized science and nutrition company. ZOE. Unhealthy glucose levels after lunch are determined in part by whether glucose increased during breakfast, berries and high-carb cereals and bagels They dominate our personal breakfast menus.
For best results, visualize half your plate covered with vegetables, 25% protein and 25% carbohydrates, says Shukla. But a smaller starter can also help regulate blood sugar, she adds.
“It’s not all or nothing,” says Senich, of North Carolina. He makes sure baby carrots are always within reach, knowing that if he has about ten, it’s better than eating only carbohydrates.
As always, it is good to aim for carbohydrates that are unprocessed, complex and rich in fiber.
Try a protein snack
Another option that has been shown to flatten glucose spikes: a plant-free protein base. Consuming protein alone, before carbohydrates, can prevent glucose spikes and increase satiety. Before oatmeal, Senich makes sure to consume unsweetened Greek yogurt or nuts, both good sources of protein. An “almond appetizer” reduces glucose after meals by 15%.
Joe Sapone, founder of a consulting company in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, says food sequencing has helped him lose 120 pounds, along with medication. “I’ve gotten into the habit of eating protein first,” he says. He is a fan of whey protein shakes. “I’m Italian, so food is religion,” Sapone says. “What I want most is pasta and bread.” However, after shakes, less hunger translates to smaller portions.
“Whey is king,” says Daniel West, a professor at Newcastle University who focuses on nutrition and insulin, because it’s loaded with amino acids that “prime the system” for carbohydrates. Just 15 grams of whey before a meal can improve daily glucose by 10%. Other investigation shows sustained benefits for 12 weeks.
Hashemi prefers pea protein shakes, another backed by evidence option, says West.
Fruits with a relatively low level of sugar could also have some benefit as a preload. Because of the high fiber content in some whole fruits like strawberries, eating them first, before other types of carbohydrates, can increase the hormone GLP-1 and help suppress appetite, compared to eating the whole fruit last, some studies They have found. This effect could promote weight loss, but research is conflicting about whether eating fruit first helps control blood glucose levels. “It’s best to preload non-starchy vegetables or protein-rich foods because they have very little sugar or carbohydrates,” says Shukla.
Prepare for success
If you’re busy, keep vegetable starters within reach. Preparation is key. “At the store, I make sure to buy those easy-to-get vegetables,” like cucumbers, Senich says. While he cooks carbs, he eats chopped peppers.
Sapone, who has type 2 diabetes, prepares nearly a week’s worth of healthy food in advance and places it at eye level in her refrigerator. He preloads carrots at his beach club in case the pretzels tempt him. “I’m not a very regimented person,” he says, but he is “happy” with the food order. He is not alone in that. “Patients rely on food order to support their obesity treatment,” says Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity physician at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of Intellihealth, in part because they can still consume carbohydrates. “The best diet is one that doesn’t look like a diet.”
Read more: Why walking is not enough when it comes to exercise
Sapone’s enthusiasm was reinforced by his own data. He likes to use a continuous glucose monitor to track how carbs alone raise his glucose levels and how preloads help. In addition to lowering his weight and average blood glucose level, his cholesterol has lowered.
Through technology companies like January AI, people can monitor how food orders and other factors affect glucose even without using a continuous glucose monitor. Take a photo of your food and January’s AI algorithm. predict Its post-meal effect is based on demographics such as age, body mass index, and disease status.
Food sequencing is not a panacea. For obesity and diabetes, it is most effective when patients also take medications supervised by specialists, as in the cases of Sapone and Senich. Other improvements in glucose control come with good sleep, eat slower and regular exercise.
And keep in mind that most studies on plant-based starters focus on their immediate effects. More research is needed on long-term outcomes. “We have a lot of tools in the toolbox,” Berry says. “Meal ordering is just one of those tools.”