Eat veggies and protein first, carbs last through ‘meal sequencing’

When the bowls of chips and salsa or bread arrive on the table, how can you not dive in?

Especially if you’re hungry, you probably don’t wait for your entrée and instead start chowing down on those tasty carbs.

If you have diabetes or pre-diabetes and are trying to lower your blood glucose levels or lose weight, try eating carbs in any meal last. The order in which you eat the various food groups in a meal matters — it’s sometimes called “meal sequencing.” That order can influence how your body releases glucose into your blood, which is important for controlling your blood sugar levels.

Your impulse might be to eat your carbs first (the pasta), then the protein (chicken), and last of all the veggies (green beans). Try reversing that order. Veggies first, then protein and fats and finally the carbs.

Eating carbs last slows digestion

Studies have shown that if you save the carbs for last, that will slow down digestion of the carbs that break down into glucose and enter your bloodstream. Your blood sugar more gradually rises when you eat veggies, then protein, then carbs. Using this sequence could prevent spikes in blood sugar that can happen when you eat carbs earlier in the meal.

Eating the carbs last won’t work for all meals. For example, if you’re eating a quinoa bowl, then the proteins, carbs and veggies are all mixed together. You may not be able to separate out the veggies and eat them first. That’s OK. You don’t have to eat veggies first for every single meal to see a difference in your blood sugar levels.

Slim down by saving carbs for last

Besides lowering blood sugar levels, the veggies-first method may have an added benefit: weight loss. By eating veggies (a fiber source) early on in the meal, followed by protein, you’ll probably feel full sooner than if you went for the carbs first. As a result, you might be more likely to have only one serving of pasta and not go back for seconds.

That’s one of the benefits my patients say they experience. They’re not over-eating as they did before trying the veggies-first approach.

Who should eat their veggies first?

Anyone with type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes, or anyone interested in losing weight could benefit from making carbs the finale of their meals. You’ll likely see a decrease in your A1C hemoglobin levels — your blood glucose levels averaged over about three months.

How much of a decrease? That depends on the person. We all break down food differently, so it’s hard to say how much of an effect the reordering will have on you. You might eat a potato and your blood sugar spikes; your friend might eat a potato and the increase in their blood sugar is a lot lower.

Digestion changes with age

While carbs are important to your diet, if you have diabetes or prediabetes, you may have to eat fewer of them when you’re older to control your blood glucose levels.

As you age, the cells in your pancreas that make insulin become less efficient, which can affect your blood glucose levels because insulin controls those levels. You need insulin to move glucose in the blood into cells where it can be used as energy.

So, as you get older, it may be important to adjust your eating habits, particularly the amount and types of carbs you eat and when you eat them.

Meals ideas for veggies-first order

If you’re wondering how to put the veggies-first method into place, here are some possibilities:

• Breakfast: An omelet with veggies, then one piece of whole wheat toast.
• Lunch: A side salad or vegetables and dip, then a tuna sandwich on whole grain bread.
• Dinner: Start with a salad or another non-starchy veggie such as broccoli, green beans or cauliflower. Next, have a lean meat such as broiled chicken breast or fish such as salmon, and last of all potatoes, brown rice or wheat pasta.

When you’re trying to lower your blood sugar levels, the carbs in every meal should only take up about ¼ of your plate — the same amount as the protein. The remaining half of your plate ideally should be filled with a non-starchy vegetable such as eggplant, asparagus, broccoli or spinach.

As you keep in mind the veggies-first approach, try not to think about it as: saving the best (the carbs) for last. There’s a lot of tasty protein and veggie recipes that just might change your mind.