Eating order: How ‘meal sequencing’ and colourful foods can boost midlife health and longevity
Human performance and longevity expert Dr Suzanne Ferree began studying longevity a decade ago. Today, she provides her patients, who are between the ages of 45 and 65, with tools for boosting their chances of being healthier and living longer.
Midlife is “where the patients, if they do (make) some changes, can make the most impact,” she said. The practices Dr Ferree, 53, shares with her patients are ones that she incorporates in her own daily routine.
From salsa dancing to keep her brain sharp to going to meditation retreats with friends often, Ferree structures her life for optimal wellness. And her diet aligns with what she’s learned in her specialty.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.When it comes to her meals, Dr Ferree aims for “as many colors as I can possibly get,” she says. She eats mainly whole foods over processed foods.
“I like to eat things like asparagus and sweet potatoes. One of my favourite sweet potatoes is this purple sweet potato . . . and it’s delicious,” she says.
Eating a diet filled with colourful fruits and vegetables can have great health benefits, and it’s largely due to those foods containing phytonutrients, “compounds that give plants their rich colours as well as their distinctive tastes and aromas,” according to Harvard Health Publishing.
A healthy intake of foods with phytonutrients can decrease your risk of developing diseases like heart disease and cancer, the Harvard blog explains. Research shows that a group of phytonutrients in colorful plant-based foods called flavonoids are associated with improvements in brain health and lower risk of dementia and cognitive decline.
But it’s not only what you eat that matters, Dr Ferree notes. “The order of how you eat your food is important, so eating vegetables first, protein second, and any carbohydrates, including drinks, as your last intake is the way to go,” she says.
“It helps with slowing down that glucose absorption, so that you’re not getting such high spikes of blood sugar.”
Experts call the process of ordering your foods in the way Dr Ferree describes, “meal sequencing”.
The practice can be especially beneficial for people who have diabetes or pre-diabetes, Jessica Hernandez, a registered dietitian wrote in an article for Ohio University’s health blog.
