Simple ‘meal sequencing’ hack is like ‘mini Ozempic’ giving major fat-burning boost, scientists say

EATING vegetables before carbohydrates at meal times could help you lose weight, scientists say.

Scoffing down greens first can make your body behave similarly to having weight loss jabs like semaglutide — also known as Ozempic and Wegovy.

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Research shows eating veggies stimulates production of GLP-1, the hormone that makes you feel full and is mimicked by those drugs.

Carolyn Williams, a registered dietitian in Alabama, told DailyMail.com: “You could almost say your vegetables are like your own small form of Ozempic.

“They increased that GLP-1, and that’s part of what slows digestion and slows gastric emptying. 

“When you slow gastric emptying, your carbohydrates aren’t going to be digested quite as quickly and aren’t going to rush into the bloodstream as quickly.”

Semaglutide is a drug originally developed to treat Type 2 diabetes, which was sold under the name Ozempic.

But patients started noticing it suppressed their appetites, stopping them eating as much and helping them shed the pounds.

It mimics a naturally occurring hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which is usually released after eating.

Danish firm Novo Nordisk later developed Wegovy, which contains the same chemical but is given at higher doses specifically to aid weight loss.

Previous research has shown ‘meal sequencing’ — how you order what you eat at meal times — can have an impact on fullness as well.

Opting to eat veggies first fills you up with healthy fibre, reducing how much you want to eat in carbohydrates afterwards.

One study, published in Diabetologia, looked at how sequencing impacts natural GLP-1 production.

Japanese researchers studied 22 adults aged 35 to 70 to see how when they eat their carbs impacts a range of measures, including how much of the hormone they make.

Eating carbs last increased GLP-1 production, regardless of what they ate first on the plate.

Dr Hitoshi Kuwata, of Kansai Electric Power Medical Research Institute, said: “Meal sequence can play a role in glucose control through both delayed gastric emptying and enhanced incretin secretion.”