You probably know the sluggish feeling that can creep in after a heavy lunch. Most of us blame what we ate.
The newer thinking is that the order of each bite may matter too.
Giving fat before carbohydrates slowed the early rise in blood sugar in mice fed olive oil before a glucose drink, Kyoto University researchers reported in the journal Diabetes on October 8, 2026.
The idea has been tested in people. In a small 2015 study in Diabetes Care, 11 adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes ate vegetables and protein before carbohydrates, then had the same meal in reverse order a week later.
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Their blood sugar was 28.6% lower at 30 minutes when the vegetables and protein came first. At 60 minutes it was 36.7% lower. At 120 minutes it was still 16.8% lower.
According to the CDC, about 115.2 million US adults have prediabetes and roughly 29 million have diagnosed diabetes. Many of them are trying to keep post-meal spikes down.
How a different first bite can slow the surge
Fat and protein sit heavier in the stomach than refined carbs. When they arrive first, the stomach releases food into the small intestine more slowly.
That drip-feeds glucose into the bloodstream instead of releasing it in a flood.
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Fat and protein also trigger gut hormones called GLP-1 and GIP. These are known as incretins, and they nudge the pancreas to release insulin earlier and tell the stomach to slow down further.
What the Kyoto team actually tested
The researchers used fasted mice.
One group drank water then glucose, another had olive oil then glucose 15 minutes later, and a third had glucose then olive oil.
The oil-first group had the smallest early rise in blood sugar.
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They also measured how fast the stomach emptied, using blood levels of acetaminophen as a tracer.
Emptying was slower when oil came first. Blocking GLP-1 alone or glucagon alone did not undo the effect. Blocking both at once did.
That is an animal result, so the mechanism findings cannot be carried directly over to people. But it fits with what human studies have already seen.
Trying it at your next meal
Start with the vegetables, the salad, the fish or chicken, or a drizzle of olive oil on the greens.
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Save the bread, rice, pasta or potatoes for last.
Nothing on the plate has to change, only the order you fork it up. Readers who take insulin or other glucose-lowering medication should check with their doctor before changing meal patterns, since lower post-meal spikes can affect dosing.
The 2015 Weill Cornell protocol used a 15-minute gap between courses, which gives one practical interval to try at home.
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This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.