When they make a decision to eat healthier, most people focus on the types of foods they consume. From Mediterranean to keto to intermittent fasting, there are countless rabbit holes of internet searches that can get you lost in the world of diets.
Far fewer people focus on when to eat certain foods. New research suggests, though, the order in which certain foods are eaten during a meal may influence blood sugar, energy levels and fullness.
What is nutrient sequencing?
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Nutrient sequencing is eating foods in a specific order to maintain balanced blood sugar levels and curb hunger cravings. More and more, health experts are emphasizing the importance of the order of consumption.
The basic recommendation is: fiber-rich vegetables first, protein and healthy fats second, carbohydrates last. Rather than eliminate carbs or restrict certain food groups, nutrient sequencing allows the individual to eat the same meal, just in a different way.
At dinner, someone practicing food sequencing would start with a salad or vegetables, move on to their protein of choice and finish with a carb-based food, such as a side of fries or rice.
Unlike lunch or dinner, which are fairly simple to sequence, breakfast doesn’t always include vegetables. You don’t have to force yourself to eat a salad at 7 a.m. Instead, focus on getting protein and fiber before or with carbohydrates.
How does it work?
The key to the science behind nutrient sequencing is how quickly food leaves the stomach, is digested and enters the bloodstream as glucose. Studies on nutrient sequencing have found that delaying carbohydrate consumption may help slow digestion and create a more gradual rise in blood sugar after eating.
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When you eat carbohydrates, especially refined carbohydrates such as white bread or pastries, they’re broken down into glucose. The pancreas reacts by releasing insulin to help transport glucose into cells for energy.
Carbohydrates that are eaten alone often cause blood sugar to rise rapidly, leading to glucose spikes. Eating fiber, protein and healthy fats before carbohydrates changes that process.
Fiber-rich foods such as vegetables take longer to digest than carbohydrates. They also are more filling, which slows gastric emptying, or the rate at which food leaves the stomach and enters the small intestine. Since carbohydrates enter the small intestine at a slower rate, glucose, in turn, reaches the bloodstream more slowly.
Protein and healthy fats similarly slow gastric emptying, but they also release digestion and blood sugar-regulating hormones, leading to slower carbohydrate absorption. These hormones, such as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), help the body digest food more slowly, manage blood sugar levels and feel full longer.
What does the research say?
The growing popularity of sequencing is part of a larger focus on managing blood sugar, which circulated online and began to gain a following starting in 2022. Unlike many fads and diet hacks, nutrient sequencing is backed by years of scientific research.
Research emerged around 2014, when multiple studies found that consuming protein and vegetables before carbohydrates reduced blood sugar spikes.
A 2019 study published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism found that people with prediabetes who ate protein and vegetables before carbohydrates reduced their post-meal blood sugar response by nearly 39 percent compared with those who ate carbohydrates first.
Nutrient sequencing has also proven beneficial for adults without diabetes. A 2026 systematic review published in Clinical Nutrition Research found that meal sequencing consistently reduced post-meal blood sugar spikes in healthy adults.
Though there is significant backing behind immediate blood sugar regulation, researchers do not yet know whether this leads to long-term improvements in A1C.
Who benefits?
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People with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and insulin resistance may benefit most directly from nutrient sequencing. Even adults without these conditions may benefit through steadier energy and improved satiation, though.
One of the biggest advantages of this practice is its approachability. Rather than impose strict or unrealistic diet plans, sequencing doesn’t villainize foods. It instead encourages a more mindful approach to how meals are enjoyed.
Experts and researchers note that sequencing only works if it is paired with overall healthy eating practices, as lasting health is less shaped by the order of a meal and more by daily habits.
Megan Brokamp is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mbrokamp@cityscenemediagroup.com.
