1. Eat Your Vegetables and Protein Before the Rice or Roti
The sequence of what you eat matters more than most people realise. A 2015 study published in Diabetes Care by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine found that eating protein and vegetables before carbohydrates reduced post-meal glucose levels by up to 37% and insulin response by 57% compared to eating carbs first. At an Indian meal, this means starting with the sabzi, dal, or raita before touching the rice or chapati. The fibre and protein slow gastric emptying, so by the time the carbs arrive, the gut is already primed to absorb them more gradually.
