A sharp rise in blood sugar has a negative effect on our bodies. Sugar in the bloodstream is a necessary energy source, but too much of it causes various problems. On top of the protein glycation I discussed earlier, it boosts triglycerides and accelerates vascular disorders, blocks the function of vitamin C, and causes diabetes.
So to stay healthy, you need eating habits that make blood sugar rise slowly. In particular, starting the meal with sweet things like dessert spikes blood sugar and puts a heavy burden on the body.
When blood sugar spikes, insulin is released in large amounts. As I mentioned, insulin is a hormone that accelerates aging. That's why the order in which you eat matters. (p. 106)
With the "100-year life" era ahead, interest in "anti-aging" and "living young" is high. The thinking is that living long in poor health is a disaster; what matters is living long in good health.
Dr. Mitsuo Tadashi, the author, stresses that while you can't rewind the years, you can absolutely reduce your "body's age" — the key is to catch the signs of aging early, understand the real causes, and change daily habits.
The symptoms of aging the author lists include: losing the motivation to work, losing interest in things you used to like, frequent depression or emotional instability, declining appetite or changed taste, bad breath or "old-man smell," palpitations or arrhythmia, cold hands and feet, declining exercise capacity, declining strength, sudden hot flashes or sweating, difficulty sleeping and waking too early, blurred vision or declining eyesight, inability to hear high-pitched sounds and chronic ringing in the ears or dizziness... these, he says, are the signals of aging.
The author says we need to catch these signs early, correct mistaken health "common sense," and change daily habits for anti-aging. Of the habits he lists, the "order of eating at meals" caught my eye.
"The order in which you eat at a meal has a big impact on aging. You have to eat low-sugar foods first so that blood sugar rises slowly." (p. 107)
Eat low-sugar foods first — put plainly, the advice is to eat in the order: fiber (vegetables) - protein (meat, fish, tofu, etc.) - carbs (rice, bread) - dessert. With this order, blood sugar rises slowly, insulin release doesn't spike, post-meal blood sugar drops slowly, and you don't feel false hunger.
Eating in the "fiber - protein - carbs" order. Just changing the order helps prevent aging, lowers your body's age, and supports dieting too — worth remembering.
▶ Yeh Byung-il's Economy Note - Twitter: @yehbyungil / Facebook: www.facebook.com/yehbyungil
