Veggie Starters: The Simple Trick That Lowers Glucose, Insulin, and Hunger

Summary

The presenter recommends a simple “veggie starter” habit: eat vegetables before the rest of a meal, especially before a meal high in carbohydrates. In examples shown, eating vegetables first was associated with smaller glucose spikes, even though the main meal stayed the same.

Why it may help

The presenter says vegetable fiber may:

• Slow the movement of glucose into the bloodstream by forming a gel-like barrier in the digestive tract.
• Slow gastric emptying—the movement of food from the stomach to the intestine.
• Support the release of GLP-1, a hormone associated with feeling full and regulating glucose.

The video links smaller glucose spikes with steadier energy, fewer cravings, less lingering hunger, and lower insulin release. It also emphasizes that adding vegetables is not a reason to eat more highly processed food; the suggestion is to add the starter to your usual meal.

How to try it

• Have a plate or serving of vegetables before lunch or dinner, ideally before whichever meal is highest in carbohydrates.
• Any vegetables can work, raw or cooked. Examples include salad, broccoli, radishes, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, and artichokes.
• Aim for the vegetable starter to be about one-third of the meal by volume—roughly half the size of the main dish. If that feels like too much, the presenter says even a small amount is a start.
• Eat the vegetables immediately before the rest of the meal; the presenter says there’s no need to wait.
• At a restaurant, order a side salad or vegetables and eat them first.

Practical ideas and cautions

Easy options include leftover roasted vegetables, unsweetened pickles, cucumber with guacamole, tomato with mozzarella, or jarred artichokes and other vegetables.

Vegetable soup is presented as better than no starter, though the presenter says blending may make its fiber less effective. Potato soup is not recommended as a veggie starter because potatoes are starchy.

The presenter suggests combining the starter with a vinegar dressing. If drinking vinegar in water, dilute it.

The video notes that many people don’t get enough fiber and presents the starter as one way to eat more. It also mentions fiber’s benefits for gut health and cholesterol.

Fiber supplements are not presented as an equivalent substitute; the presenter says it would take many pills to match a vegetable serving. If a starter isn’t possible, she advises simply trying again another time.

The presenter also promotes a branded anti-spike supplement containing mulberry leaf, claiming it can reduce glucose spikes. She says it works differently from vegetable fiber and can be combined with the veggie starter.

Presenter and sources mentioned

• Presenter: Jessie Inchauspé, identified in the subtitles as “Jesse Inespe,” from The Glucose Goddess Show.
• Studies cited by title in the video:
  • “Eating vegetables first regardless of eating speed has a significant reducing effect on postprandial blood glucose and insulin in young healthy women: a randomized controlled crossover study”
  • “Food order has a significant impact on postprandial glucose and insulin levels”
  • “Manipulating the sequence of food ingestion improves glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients under free living conditions”
  • “Consuming carbs after meats or vegetables lowers postprandial excursions of glucose and insulin in non-diabetic subjects”
  • “Effect of food order on ghrelin suppression”