Adjusting the order of eating not only controls blood sugar but also helps lose weight. Come and try it

Speaking of eating order, what do you eat first at every meal? Rice, vegetables or soup?

Maybe many people think that the order of eating is not important, the important thing is to put the food into the stomach and feel full. In fact, the order of eating is very important. The correct order of eating can not only make us full, but also gain many health benefits.

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Adjust the order of meals

Help you control blood sugar

Eating seems simple, but there are skills to it. Changing the order of eating is a key step that is highly recommended.

Many people think that eating is just about putting food into the stomach, and that whatever you eat will be temporarily stored in the same small space and then digested and absorbed by the body. Why can't you eat properly? What does it have to do with the order?

Not really. Eating also requires a first come first served basis. In addition to the type of food eaten at each meal affecting blood sugar, many studies have confirmed that the order of eating will also affect blood sugar after meals. Different eating orders will have different effects on blood sugar, which is especially important for people who need to control blood sugar.

The concept of dining order originated from the "Kaiseki cuisine" in Japanese traditional culture, which advocates the use of the "dietary fiber-protein/fat-carbohydrate" dining order when dining.

In 2010, Japanese scholar Sakiko Imai used a crossover test to compare the effect of the order of rice and vegetables on postprandial blood sugar in 15 patients with type 2 diabetes. The subjects ate the same meal on both test days, but in different orders. The food they ate was white rice and vegetable salad, with a total calorie content of 340 kcal.

On the first day, 8 people ate rice first and then ate vegetables 10 minutes later, while the other 7 people ate vegetables first and then ate rice 10 minutes later. On the second day, all subjects ate in the opposite order to the previous order, and the meal time was limited to 15 minutes.

The results showed that compared with eating rice first, eating vegetables first reduced blood sugar levels 30 minutes after a meal by 21%. This trial was the first to prove that changing the order of meals can help improve postprandial blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes.

In 2018, researchers in the UK used a continuous blood glucose monitoring system to compare the effects of meal order on postprandial blood glucose in 20 patients with type 1 diabetes. The subjects ate the same breakfast in different meal orders on two test days.

On the first day, protein and fat were eaten first, followed by carbohydrates (i.e., the test meal); on the second day, all foods were mixed and ingested (i.e., the standard meal). The results showed that the average blood sugar level after eating the test meal was significantly lower than that after eating the standard meal.

In 2020, researchers in Singapore also conducted related research, comparing the effects of the first bite of food (vegetables, meat, staple food, or mixed) on our body's blood sugar, insulin, satiety, etc.

Sixteen subjects consumed five experimental isocaloric meals in random order, including 63.2 g of cooked rice, 100 g of skinless chicken breast, and 180 g of pakchoy.

The first one: eat the vegetables first, and then eat the meat and rice 10 minutes later.

The second method: eat the meat first, and then eat the vegetables and rice 10 minutes later.

The third method: eat in the order of vegetables, meat, and rice, with 10 minutes intervals between each.

The fourth type: eat vegetables, meat and rice together.

Fifth method: Eat rice first, and then eat vegetables and meat 10 minutes later.

The results showed that the first, second and third methods can all reduce the blood sugar response after a meal and avoid large fluctuations in blood sugar; but the second method is not very helpful in terms of insulin sensitivity; the third method has the strongest sense of fullness, the lowest insulin peak and the smallest blood sugar fluctuation; the fifth method has the highest blood sugar response after a meal and the largest insulin fluctuation. In general, the two ways of eating vegetables first (the first and third) are more conducive to the stability of blood sugar after a meal than the other three ways.

It is worth noting that these studies have relatively few sample data, so the conclusions of the studies need to be further confirmed by researchers. However, in addition to these studies, China's "Dietary Guidelines for Type 2 Diabetes" also mentions that diabetic patients should adjust the order of meals and develop the habit of eating vegetables first and staple food last. Eating in the order of vegetables-meat-staple food is beneficial to short-term and long-term blood sugar control in diabetic patients.

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Adjust the order of meals

Help you lose weight

In addition to controlling blood sugar, the benefit of adjusting the order of meals can also help you lose weight, thanks to the following two reasons.

1. Strong sense of fullness, helps control appetite

Substances such as dietary fiber, protein and fat in food can reduce food intake by inhibiting gastric emptying and appetite and increasing satiety.

Importantly, most vegetables are difficult to chew and need to be chewed slowly. They are also rich in dietary fiber. Therefore, compared with protein foods and staple foods, eating more vegetables first can help us increase satiety, help control appetite, avoid overeating, and prevent obesity. The dietary fiber in vegetables can also reduce fat absorption, which is also helpful for weight loss.

2. Blood sugar is stable after meals, and fat is not easily accumulated

If the blood sugar level after a meal is high, the body will release a large amount of insulin to work. Excessive secretion of insulin will inhibit the decomposition of fat and promote the synthesis of fat, thereby increasing the risk of obesity. If the blood sugar level after a meal is stable, the body will not easily accumulate fat, which is more conducive to our weight loss and weight control.

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Recommended to eat like this

Japanese scholar Sakeko Imai and others first defined the dietary therapy method of changing the order of meals as: "During the meal, first spend 5 minutes eating vegetables, then spend 5 minutes eating protein side dishes, and finally spend 5 minutes eating carbohydrate staple foods."

What are the specific recommendations? And how much should I eat?

1. Vegetables

If you only eat two bites of cabbage and say you have eaten vegetables first, it may not have any effect. In order for "changing the order of meals" to be meaningful, you have to eat enough.

It is recommended to eat 1 to 2 fists of cooked vegetables at each meal, and choose more dark-colored vegetables, such as dark green rapeseed, Chinese cabbage, and broccoli; orange-yellow carrots, pumpkins, and yellow bell peppers; red tomatoes and red bell peppers; purple cabbage, purple lettuce, purple amaranth, and purple onions.

2. Protein Foods

Just eat about one fist. It is recommended to choose soy products, fish, shrimp, and poultry, and less red meat such as pork, beef, and mutton. Excessive intake of red meat will increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Also try not to eat fatty meat with high fat content.

When it comes to cooking methods, choose less braising, frying, and pickling, and choose more steaming, boiling, and stewing, and eat a light diet.

3. Staple Food

For most people, 1 to 2 bowls of rice per meal is enough. Try to eat a variety of foods instead of just refined rice and white flour. For example, oatmeal rice, buckwheat rice, quinoa rice, barley rice, chickpea rice, red bean rice, steamed sweet potatoes, steamed potatoes, boiled corn, etc. are all good choices.

It can be seen that changing the order of meals is a simple, easy and effective method that is beneficial to long-term blood sugar control for diabetic patients. Compared with traditional dietary guidance, changing the order of meals is easy to implement and makes it easier for people to stick to it. Some people may not be used to eating dry rice at the end, but that's okay. You can try two methods.

1. Eat a big bowl of cooked vegetables first, and then eat a bite of meat and a bite of rice.

2. Reserve a small portion of vegetables and meat in advance. After you finish eating the rest of the food, eat the reserved food together with the rice.

References

[1]SEINOY, UENOS, YABED, et al. Dietary recommendations for type 2 diabetes patients: lessons from recent clinical and basic research in Asia[J]. J Diabetes Investig, 2019, 10(6): 1405-1407． DOI: 10.1111/jdi.13135.

[2] Imai Saeko. The effect of inhibiting the rise in blood sugar after eating in patients with diabetes [J]. Diabetes, 2010, 53(2):112-115. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10026317599.

[3]FABERE M, VAN KAMPENP M, CLEMENT-DE BOERS A, et al. The influence of food order on postprandial glucose levels in children with type 1 diabetes[J]． Pediatr Diabetes, 2018, 19(4): 809-815． DOI: 10.1111/pedi.12640.

[4]Sun L, Goh HJ, Govindharajulu P, Leow MK, Henry CJ. Postprandial glucose, insulin and incretin responses differ by test meal macronutrient ingestion sequence (PATTERN study). Clin Nutr. 2020 Mar;39(3):950-957. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2019.04.001. Epub 2019 Apr 27. PMID: 31053510.

[5] Imai Saeko, Shizuo Kajiyama. Food prescription, food time, blood sugar changes, and influence of blood sugar [J]. Chemistry and Biology, 2018, 56(7): 483-489.

Planning and production

Author: Xue Qingxin, registered nutritionist

Review丨Zhang Yu, researcher/PhD, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, national health science expert

Planning丨Zhong Yanping

Editor: Zhong Yanping

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin

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