Studies have shown that eating too quickly may increase your risk for developing diabetes and obesity. However, it can be quite difficult for some people to break this habit, so instead of trying to slow down the speed at which you eat, consider the order in which you eat foods.
A recent study found that food order has a greater effect on blood sugar levels after meals than the actual eating speed. When vegetables are eaten before carbohydrate-containing foods, regardless of how fast you eat, blood sugar levels will be lower than if you were to eat the carbs first.
A typical meal for someone with diabetes, or a healthy eating pattern in general, includes filling half the plate with non-starchy vegetables (like broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower), ¼ of the plate with a protein source (like chicken, beef, or fish), and ¼ with carbohydrates (like rice, pasta, and bread). The ideal order to eat this type of meal would be vegetables first, followed by the protein, and finish with the carbs. It is likely that this order reduces blood sugar levels following a meal due to preloading of high fiber-containing vegetables, which slows down digestion. The slower digestion helps prevent blood sugar spikes and the overproduction of insulin.
Read more about this study here: https://tinyurl.com/49yv7e45
Written by Victoria Luera, Lone Star Circle of Care Registered Dietitian. Submitted by Ashley Wild
