【TIME】Why Your Breakfast Should Start with a Vegetable

Today, she’s cut her cravings and blood sugar partly by changing how she eats. But Senich didn’t ditch the carbs. She changed the order in which she has them.

Carbs aren’t inherently bad. They’re the main energy source for the nervous system and provide fiber that helps with digestion and lowering cholesterol levels. Although carbs are found in some unhealthy foods (think French fries), they’re also plentiful in wholesome options like unprocessed fruits, lentils, and beans that fuel the brain and muscles. With some high-carb foods, though, blood sugar levels, also known as glucose, can climb higher than the ideal range especially if eaten on their own and in excess. If these spikes occur often over the years, our cells stop responding to insulin, the hormone that normally signals the cells to take in glucose for energy use. This problem, called insulin resistance, causes sugar to build up in the blood—a defining feature of diabetes.

When we have veggies first, their fiber sets up a filter in the intestines. Once the carbs arrive on the scene, the filter slows them down, like sand catching floodwater, so the glucose enters the bloodstream at a mere trickle instead of a gush. Less insulin is needed for our cells to absorb these drips, putting less strain on the pancreas. “The totality of the research strongly supports the notion that food sequencing does reduce glucose spikes after a meal,” says Dr. Alpana Shukla, an associate professor of research at Weill Cornell Medicine who studies food order.

Aim to eat a vegetable 10 minutes before you eat your carbs, though you’ll still see some benefit without taking any break before the carbs, Shukla says. Noosheen Hashemi, founder and CEO of the health-tracking company January AI, keeps her blood sugar levels healthy by bringing vegetables like broccoli, fennel, or peppers to restaurants in her purse, anticipating high-carb dishes. “I carry vegetables,” she says. (TIME’s owner, Marc Benioff, is an investor in January AI.)

Another option shown to flatten out glucose spikes: a protein primer without vegetables. Getting protein on its own, prior to carbs, can prevent glucose spikes and increase fullness. Before oatmeal, Senich makes sure to have sugar-free Greek yogurt or nuts, both good protein sources. An “almond appetizer” reduces post-meal glucose by 15%.