. continue as suggested by the article [published by ConsumerLab]

The order in which food is consumed during a meal may affect blood sugar increase after a meal:

 The greatest blood sugar control seems to be achieved when vegetables are consumed first, followed by protein, and then carbohydrates

. In fact, a small study in the U.S. among 15 people with prediabetes (average age 52) showed that eating vegetables and protein 10 minutes before consuming carbohydrates lessened the maximum increase in blood sugar by about 44% compared to eating carbohydrates before vegetables and protein.

This also reduced the post-meal fluctuation in insulin levels by about 44% (Shukla, Diabetes Obes Metab 2019).

Similar results were observed in a study of healthy individuals who consumed vegetables and meat before rice as opposed to rice before vegetables and meat, although the rise in insulin was lower only among those who consumed vegetables, then meat, then rice (Sun, Clin Nutr 2020). In addition, a study in Japan among 12 people with type 2 diabetes showed that eating fish or meat before rice lessened fluctuations in blood sugar levels after the meal, likely by delaying gastric emptying, compared to eating rice before fish. Eating fish or meat prior to rice also increased the secretion of gut hormones involved in insulin secretion, although significant changes in insulin secretion itself did not occur (Kuwata, Diabetologia 2016).