Diabetes And Carbohydrates: The Order Of Food In Your Diet Will Influence Your Insulin Levels

Of course, what we eat may influence how much we weigh, risks for certain medical conditions and how we feel in general--all of which are also dependent on a number of genetic and environmental factors. Yet could the order of what we eat in a meal influence our health, as well? 

New findings published in the journal Diabetes Care found that obese patients dealing with type 2 diabetes and struggling to lower blood sugar and insulin levels benefited from eating carbohydrates in their meals last.

"We're always looking for ways to help people with diabetes lower their blood sugar," said senior author Dr. Louis Aronne, the Sanford I. Weill Professor of Metabolic Research and a professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, who is the study's principal investigator. "We rely on medicine, but diet is an important part of this process, too. Unfortunately, we've found that it's difficult to get people to change their eating habits.

"Carbohydrates raise blood sugar, but if you tell someone not to eat them - or to drastically cut back - it's hard for them to comply," added Dr. Aronne, who is also director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill Cornell. "This study points to an easier way that patients might lower their blood sugar and insulin levels."

For the study, researchers enlisted 11 patients who were obese and had type 2 diabetes. The study participants had to eat two specific meals on two separate days, each a week apart. Each meal consisted of ciabatta bread and orange juice (carbohydrates), chicken breast (protein), lettuce and tomato salad with low-fat dressing and steamed broccoli with butter (vegetables and fat). Glucose levels were measured both before and after each meal.

Volunteers were instructed to eat carbohydrates first on the day of their first meal, followed by protein, vegetables and fat 15 minutes later. They checked the participants' blood sugar 30, 60 and 120 minutes after their meals. Then, on the day of their second meal, participants were instructed to eat carbohydrates last. 

Findings revealed that eating carbohydrates last helped to lower the participants' blood sugar levels by about 29 percent after 30 minutes. At 60 minutes, it was 37 percent lower and around 17 percent lower after two hours. Insulin levels were also significantly lower when vegetables and protein were eaten before carbohydrates. 

"Based on this finding, instead of saying ‘don't eat that' to their patients, clinicians might instead say, ‘eat this before that,'" Dr. Aronne concluded. "While we need to do some follow-up work, based on this finding, patients with type 2 might be able to make a simple change to lower their blood sugar throughout the day, decrease how much insulin they need to take, and potentially have a long-lasting, positive impact on their health."

If you or someone you know is dealing with type 2 diabetes, lowering your carbohydrate intake may help with high insulin levels. Furthermore, learning more about glycemic index and calorie counting may aid in addressing any nutrition issues. To find out more about what specific diet might be right, check out the American Diabetes Association's website, here.

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