13-03-2025
Eating Food in This Order Can Have Similar Benefits to Ozempic
By now, you likely know which foods and drinks can help prevent Type 2 diabetes—but did you know that the order in which you eat them can make a big difference in improving blood sugar and boosting your GLP-1 production (and weight loss!), too?
Well, now you do. Or at least you will if you keep reading.
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But first, some backstory: I first learned about the food order phenomeon from French microbiologist Jessie Inchauspé (who you might know as @glucosegoddess on Instagram). The author of several books and cookbooks on the theme of stabilizing blood sugar, most of which I own and have read front to back (I recommend The Glucose Goddess Method), she's known for sharing easy-to-DIY blood sugar hacks for her readers and followers to implement in everyday life.
One of the most popular? Eating food in a specific order, which wasn't her idea alone: Several studies conducted over the past decade have found that the sequence in which you eat your foods can impact your blood sugar, insulin, and GLP-1 levels and production. This exciting, because that's also what GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy do.
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Published in the journal Diabetes Care, a 2015 study had 16 individuals with Type 2 diabetes eat the same meal for three days—but in different orders each time. For the first day, they had carbohydrates first, followed by proteins and vegetables. On the second day, they ate protein and vegetables first, consuming carbs afterwards. For the the last meal of the study, they ate three elements—carbs, protein, and vegetables—altogether.
After measuring glucose, insulin and other related hormonal responses, the study found that participants who ate carbs last produced higher levels of GLP-1 and lower levels of insulin while demonstrating a 53% over all reduction in blood sugar levels after eating as compared to eating carbs first.
Multiple studies have since replicated these findings—published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care and Nutrients, respectively—but the most most recent was published in Diabetes Care in February 2025. Led by yet another group of researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, they found that the carbs-last approach was associated with 44% lower sugar peaks compared with eating carbs first.
Ending with carbs last helped stabilize participants' glucose levels, reducing glycemic variability by 16.5%, and even aided in unintentional weight loss: Participants lost an average of 4.3 pounds in 12 days despite not making changes to their caloric intake.
TL;DR? Eat your fiber-rich veggies and proteins first—so start with a salad with chicken or tofu, for example—then eat your carbs (rice, pasta, potatoes, bread). Your blood sugar, insulin and GLP-1 levels will thank you.
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As for why or how food order could possibly have this effect? Basically, fiber-rich vegetables take longer to digest, which forms a protective "barrier" in your stomach. This slows the breakdown and absorption of carbohydrates, preventing blood sugar spikes and crashes and therefore increasing GLP-1. (This is also why increasing fiber is often recommended for blood sugar control. Fiber is great for it!)
Alternatively, when you eat carbs first, your body quickly converts them into glucose, resulting in a surge of insulin to manage the sugar rush. Eating protein and fiber first reduces the need for that huge insulin response, making blood sugar more stable over time. The less blood sugar spikes you have means more sustained levels of GLP-1. I know this is probably confusing, but basically, fiber likes to go first in the gut.
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You don't need to have Type 2 diabetes to reap the benefits of this food sequence: One of the aforementioned studies saw a 40% reduction in post-meal blood sugar peaks when eating carbs first as compared to last in people with prediabetes. This means they had high blood sugar, but not high enough to be considered Type 2 diabetes.
Translation? Yes, the benefits seem to apply whether or not you're diabetic. So go eat that salad (first)!
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As for why this matters? This information provides a simple, practical and most importantly, sustainable solution for everyday blood sugar control that almost anyone can follow. Plus, there's no medication required.
"We're always looking for ways to help people with diabetes lower their blood sugar," said , who served as the 2015 study's senior author and 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."
Also the Sanford I. Weill Professor of Metabolic Research at Weill-Cornell Medical College and director the Comprehensive Weight Control Center (both at the time of the study and in present day), Dr. Aronne continued: "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. This study points to an easier way that patients might lower their blood sugar and insulin levels."
Thus, rather than telling people to completely cut out one type of food, they can simply modify how they're eating it—and hopefully get some Ozempic-like perks while they're at it.
Up Next:"Carbohydrate-last meal pattern lowers postprandial glucose and insulin excursions in type 2 diabetes." BMJ open diabetes research & care.
"A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study of the Food Order Behavioral Intervention in Prediabetes." Nutrients.
"Carbohydrates-Last Food Order Improves Time in Range and Reduces Glycemic Variability." Diabetes care.
Dr. Louis J. Aronne, MD, FACP, Sanford I. Weill Professor of Metabolic Research at Weill-Cornell Medical College and director the Comprehensive Weight Control Center
"Food order has significant impact on glucose and insulin levels." Weill Cornell Medicine.
