Stop Counting Carbs: The Amino Acid Rule for Perfect Post-Meal Glucose
What if better post meal blood sugar control was about more than just counting carbohydrates?
Carbs absolutely matter, but research suggests that the order in which you eat your food may also have a major impact on your glucose response.
In this video, we explain the Amino Acid Rule and how eating protein and non starchy vegetables before carbohydrates may help slow digestion, stimulate insulin, and activate hormones such as GLP 1 and GIP before glucose enters the bloodstream.
Studies in people with type 2 diabetes have shown that eating protein and vegetables first, then carbohydrates afterward, can significantly reduce post meal glucose spikes even when the meal contains the same calories and the same amount of carbohydrates.
We also look at amino acids such as leucine, glycine, and glutamine, along with research involving foods like eggs, cheese, and whey protein, to explain why whole protein foods may help support a smoother glucose response.
This does not mean carb counting is pointless. Carbohydrate quality and quantity, exercise, sleep, stress, and overall diet still matter. Meal sequencing is simply another practical tool that may help improve blood sugar control.
A simple strategy may be to start your meal with protein and vegetables and eat your carbohydrates afterward.
Watch to learn how this works, what the clinical studies show, and why changing the order of your meal may help flatten your post meal glucose curve without necessarily removing carbohydrates from your plate.
Sources referenced in this video :
- Shukla AP, et al. "Food Order Has a Significant Impact on Postprandial Glucose and Insulin Levels." Diabetes Care, 2015. https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/38/7/e98/30914/
- Shukla AP, et al. "The impact of food order on postprandial glycaemic excursions in prediabetes." Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2019. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30101510/
- "Carbohydrates-Last Food Order Improves Time in Range and Reduces Glycemic Variability." Diabetes Care, 2025. https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/48/2/e15/157633/
- Tricò D, et al. "The insulinotropic effect of a high-protein nutrient preload is mediated by the increase of plasma amino acids in type 2 diabetes." European Journal of Nutrition, 2018. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-018-1778-y
- Ma J, et al. "Effects of a Protein Preload on Gastric Emptying, Glycemia, and Gut Hormones After a Carbohydrate Meal in Diet-Controlled Type 2 Diabetes." Diabetes Care, 2009. https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/32/9/1600/28666/
- Iverson C, et al. "Interaction of Ingested Leucine with Glycine on Insulin and Glucose Concentrations." Journal of Amino Acids, 2014. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2014/521941
- "Leucine Suppresses α-Cell cAMP and Glucagon Secretion via a Combination of Cell-Intrinsic and Islet Paracrine Signaling." Diabetes, 2024. https://diabetesjournals.org/diabetes/article/73/9/1426/156849/
- "Pre-Meal Whey Protein Alters Postprandial Insulinemia by Enhancing β-Cell Function and Reducing Insulin Clearance in T2D." Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2023. https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/108/8/e603/7025377
- "Whey Protein Premeal Lowers Postprandial Glucose Concentrations in Adults Compared with Water: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2023. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37536867/
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