Have you ever eaten dessert before your main meal? We’re firmly in the eat-what-you-want-when-you-want camp, although generally, we will stick to the traditional starter-main-dessert sequence.

As with so many things, your mum might have been onto something when she told you to have your cake last. It turns out that the order in which we choose to consume our food might make a difference to how our bodies digest and respond to it  – especially for those with certain medical conditions. 

This idea – that the order in which we eat can make a difference in how our body processes it – something known in nutrition circles as ‘food sequencing’, an approach to eating whereby people consume certain groups of nutrients in a specific order. 

But is there any science behind this concept? And is it really good for us? We asked the experts. 

Some experts believe that food sequencing can influence the body’s response, particularly in relation to our blood sugar levels.

“There’s been a lot of interest recently in how you eat affecting your energy levels as much as what you eat,” explains Alex Allan, a registered nutritional therapist and founder of PCOS Clinics. “One of the areas being cited as effective is the order in which we eat the specific foods in our meals, or food sequencing.”

We’re all used to the idea that a healthy, balanced meal should be made up of proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats. 

But not all carbohydrates are created equal.

“Carbohydrates will include non-starchy vegetables – such as leafy greens, salads, broccoli – and starchy carbohydrates, ie what we’d normally think of as ‘carbs’ – bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, starchy veg,” says Allan. However, refined (or simple) carbs such as white bread, white rice and sugar can cause what Allan calls “sudden sugar surges”.

“Maintaining balanced blood sugar levels is a bit like walking a tightrope,” she says. “It’s easy to soar above or dip below that delicate equilibrium, setting off an ‘emergency’ response from cortisol, our trusty fight-or-flight hormone.”

This is where food sequencing comes into its own.

Here’s the science bit. When we get ’hangry’, it’s all too easy to reach for a quick hit of caffeine or sugar – and you just know that you’ll get a 4pm slump in energy.

“For every sugar high, there can be a subsequent low,” says Allan. “As your blood sugar levels nosedive, it can bring on headaches, fatigue, pesky cravings, dizziness, and irritability. You’re left craving a quick fix – often in the form of chocolate, coffee or a fizzy cola. This gives you a temporary boost, making you feel better.

“But here’s the catch: it kickstarts a cycle of sugar levels spiking and then crashing, leaving you feeling utterly drained, hangry and not at your best.”

The theory goes that if we eat foods in a certain order, we can avoid these blood sugar surges and the dips that inevitably follow. 

Eating high-fibre foods earlier in a meal has also been found to make a difference. “Scientists have known for a long time that high-fibre foods, such as salads, slow gastric emptying (the rate at which food exits the stomach),” says Professor Leonie Heilbronn in The Conversation. “So high-fibre foods slow the delivery of glucose and other nutrients to the small intestine for absorption into the blood. Proteins and fats also slow gastric emptying.” 

So, as a general rule, research shows it’s good to eat proteins first (salads, meats, legumes), while still eating a complete, mixed meal including complex carbohydrates – which should be eaten last.

“Research shows us that by eating protein first, it can slow down the speed with which the glucose is absorbed into our bloodstream, which stops the highs and lows being so high and low,” says Allan. “Fibre and healthy fats can have a similar effect, so eating our carbs last in a meal can help keep blood sugar balanced – and thus keep those hangry episodes at bay.”

But if this is all too technical for you to work out after a long day at work, the advice is – don’t worry too much.

“While this evidence shows eating protein before carbohydrates helps reduce glucose spikes, the evidence for eating other food groups separately, and in sequence, during an average meal is not so strong,” Professor Heilbronn goes on to explain. 

“Don’t tie yourself up in knots trying to eat your meal in a particular order. But do consider removing sugary beverages and adding fibre, proteins or fats to carbohydrates to slow gastric emptying and flatten glucose spikes.” 

While the research is compelling, it’s important to note that it’s mainly directed towards people with health conditions such as type 2 diabetes – and food sequencing certainly isn’t advisable for everyone. 

“These tips can be very useful for helping with conditions such as type 2 diabetes and polycystic ovarian syndrome,” says Allan, “but for others, any rules around food can be triggering. Anyone with a predisposition to or history of eating disorders, should be very careful.”

We are all in favour of having an understanding of how to build a balanced, nutritious meal, and if looking into food sequencing encourages this, then go ahead. But for most of us, this research will likely just make for an interesting read, and that’s OK.

Images: Getty