🥬 Eat Greens Before Carbs, Here's Why

🌟 The secret to good blood sugar management is eating your greens before carbs.

Before starting your meal, you should have a bowl of salad or some carrots with hummus.

Essentially, any vegetables will do, but leafy greens are the best choice. (If you want some ideas, I’ve listed them below.)

Aim for a one-to-one ratio of greens to the carbs you’ll eat afterwards.

You want to have these greens or vegetables either raw or cooked, but not juiced or mashed, to retain the fibre content that plays a vital role in managing your blood sugar.

So let’s dive into Why You Should Eat Your Greens Before Carbs for Managing Blood Sugar 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

1. Lowers the Glycemic Index (GI) of Your Meal

When you eat carbohydrates, they’re broken down into glucose, which enters your bloodstream, causing a rise in blood sugar levels.

The glycemic index (GI) of a food refers to how quickly it causes your blood sugar to spike.

By consuming vegetables first, you can lower the overall GI of your meal.

This is because the fibre in the greens slows down the digestion and absorption of the carbs, reducing the rate at which glucose enters the bloodstream.

2. Reduces the Speed of Digestion

Vegetables, particularly leafy greens and those rich in fibre, take longer to digest than carbohydrates.

When you eat greens first, the fibre acts as a barrier in the digestive system, slowing down the digestion of starches and sugars from the carbs you consume afterwards.

This slower digestion process gives your body more time to process glucose and prevents the dramatic blood sugar spikes associated with high-carb meals.

Here’s a simple diagram to visualise how eating greens before carbs impacts blood sugar:

Key takeaways:

• Eating carbs alone causes a rapid spike in blood sugar.

• Eating greens first slows down this process, resulting in a more gradual rise in blood sugar levels.

3. Creates a Plateau in Blood Sugar Levels

Another benefit of eating greens first is that it helps plateau your blood sugar.

Instead of a sharp rise and fall, as seen when consuming carbs alone, eating vegetables beforehand results in a smoother and more stable blood sugar curve.

This steadier release of glucose into the bloodstream is easier for the body to manage and can prevent the energy crashes and cravings that often follow a high-carb meal.

What Research Has Shown 🔬

A study published in Diabetes Care showed that eating vegetables before carbohydrates led to significantly lower post-meal glucose levels compared to eating carbs first.

Participants in the study who consumed a meal of vegetables and protein before carbs had a 30-40% reduction in blood sugar spikes.

🌟  Click here to track your meals and blood sugar impact easily.

Lazy Day Salad Recipes That I Love 🥗🥬

Not authentic, it’s just how I like to have it, and each takes less than 5 minutes to make!

• Tabbouleh Salad:
  Chopped parsley with diced vine tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions; a splash of fresh lemon juice; a pinch of salt, pepper; and a drizzle of olive oil.

• Greek Salad:
  Chopped cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, black Kalamata olives (optional), and feta; drizzled with some extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with a pinch of salt, pepper, and lot’s of dried oregano on top!

• Caesar Salad:
  Shredded lettuce, cherry tomatoes chopped in half, Caesar dressing, extra virgin olive oil, crumbled feta, sprinkled with salt, pepper, and lots of oregano.

• Caprese Salad:
  Sliced beef tomatoes mixed with sliced fresh mozzarella; drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt, pepper, and dried oregano on top!

Jish 💜

Type 1 Diabetic & Co-Founder @ Haema

We’d love to see how you incorporate low-GI foods into your meals! Tag us on social media with your meal photos and use #HaemaMeals!

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