Eating Fibre Before Consuming Carbs Can Lower Diabetes Risk, Explains Nutritionist

Blood sugar spikes are influenced not only by what you eat but also by how and when you eat it. Consuming carbohydrates on an empty stomach allows glucose to enter the bloodstream rapidly, causing sharp spikes.

Over time, repeated spikes can worsen insulin resistance and significantly increase the risk of developing diabetes. However, experts say a small but effective dietary change, eating fibre before carbohydrates, can help regulate glucose absorption and support long-term metabolic health.

Nutritionist on How Fibre Before Carbs Lowers Diabetes Risk

Deepsikha Jain, a nutritionist with a Master’s degree in Global Public Health Nutrition from the UK and a certified national diabetes educator, recently explained how eating fibre before carbohydrates

can help reduce diabetes risk.

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In an Instagram video shared on January 19, she breaks down the science behind fibre’s role in slowing glucose absorption and preventing sudden blood sugar spikes.

Simple Experiment Shows How Fibre Controls Glucose Absorption
To explain the concept visually, Deepsikha uses a simple experiment involving two glasses of water, two sieves and droppers filled with red dye. She explains that the glasses represent blood, the sieves represent the stomach, and the red dye symbolises glucose released after consuming carbohydrates. One sieve is left empty, while the other contains a green substance representing fibre.

As she introduces the demonstration, Deepsikha says, “Just give me 60 seconds and I’ll tell you how eating fibre can reduce your risk of diabetes.” She further explains, “Imagine these two glasses of water to be your blood. This (the sieve) is your stomach. And one stomach already has fibre. The other one is an empty stomach.”

What Happens When You Eat Carbs on an Empty Stomach

During the experiment, Deepsikha releases the red dye through both sieves. In the setup without fibre, the dye flows straight into the water, visually showing how carbohydrates consumed on an empty stomach are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. This rapid absorption leads to sudden blood sugar spikes, which can be harmful when repeated frequently.

How Fibre Slows Sugar Absorption in the Bloodstream

In contrast, when the dye passes through the sieve containing fibre, most of it gets absorbed by the green substance instead of entering the water freely. This demonstrates how fibre creates a barrier that slows down the entry of glucose into the bloodstream.

Explaining the science behind this, Deepsikha says, “When you’re eating fibre, it actually locks up the sugar that reduces the rapid absorption of sugar in your bloodstream, hence reducing the sugar spike.” She adds that eating carbohydrates without fibre allows sugar to enter the blood too quickly, “hence creating a greater sugar spike, worsening your diabetes.”

How Eating Fibre First Supports Long-Term Blood Sugar Control

Through this experiment, Deepsikha highlights that fibre plays a key role in slowing glucose absorption, which helps reduce insulin resistance over time. By simply prioritising fibre-rich foods before consuming carbohydrates, individuals can stabilise blood sugar levels and lower their long-term risk of diabetes.