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Here’s why you should eat your vegetables first
A strategy known as ‘meal sequencing’ runs counter to the way people often eat and suggests that the order in which you eat your food can affect blood sugar levels and satiety.
By Anahad O’Connor
October 3, 2023 at 6:30 a.m. EDT
(Linnea Bullion for The Washington Post)
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.
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,” said 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.”