Nutritionist conducts a simple experiment to show how eating fibres before carbs can reduce the risk of diabetes

Consuming carbohydrates in an empty stomach leads to rapid glucose absorption, resulting in blood sugar spikes which increase the risk of diabetes.

Blood sugar spikes don’t just happen because of what you eat, but also how and when you eat it. Consuming carbohydrates on an empty stomach allows glucose to rush into the bloodstream, triggering sharp spikes that, when repeated over time, can increase insulin resistance and raise the risk of diabetes. The good news is that a simple dietary tweak - eating fibre before carbohydrates - can significantly slow glucose absorption, helping stabilise blood sugar levels and protect long-term metabolic health.

Find out how eating fibres can lower the risk of diabetes. (Unsplash)

Deepsikha Jain, a nutritionist with a Master’s degree in Global Public Health Nutrition from the UK and a certified national diabetes educator, is breaking down how eating fibres before carbohydrates can actually lower your risk of getting diabetes.

In an Instagram video shared on January 19, the nutritionist demonstrates a simple experiment to show how fibres can control glucose absorption in the bloodstream, blunting spikes and supporting blood sugar balance.

Blood sugar spikes don’t just happen because of what you eat, but also how and when you eat it. Consuming carbohydrates on an empty stomach allows glucose to rush into the bloodstream, triggering sharp spikes that, when repeated over time, can increase insulin resistance and raise the risk of diabetes. The good news is that a simple dietary tweak - eating fibre before carbohydrates - can significantly slow glucose absorption, helping stabilise blood sugar levels and protect long-term metabolic health.

Deepsikha Jain, a nutritionist with a Master’s degree in Global Public Health Nutrition from the UK and a certified national diabetes educator, is breaking down how eating fibres before carbohydrates can actually lower your risk of getting diabetes. In an Instagram video shared on January 19, the nutritionist demonstrates a simple experiment to show how fibres can control glucose absorption in the bloodstream, blunting spikes and supporting blood sugar balance.

A simple experiment

For the demonstration, Deepsikha uses two glasses of water, two sieves, and two droppers filled with red dye to clearly illustrate her point. She explains that the glasses of water represent your blood, while the two sieves symbolise the stomach, with one sieve filled with a green substance to indicate a fibre-rich stomach. Lastly, the droppers filled with red dye are the glucose that is absorbed after eating carbohydrates.

In the nutritionist’s own words, “Just give me 60 seconds, and I'll tell you how eating fibre can reduce your risk of diabetes. 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. And this is the sugar that you get after you eat carbs. So now this is what happens after eating carbohydrates, when the sugar enters the stomach with fibre versus without fibre.”

What does the experiment indicate?

Deepsikha then releases the red dye from the droppers into the two glasses, allowing it to pass through the sieves, and explains what happens next. In the setup with the empty sieve, the dye flows straight into the water without any resistance - illustrating how carbohydrates consumed on an empty stomach enter the bloodstream rapidly, leading to sharp blood sugar spikes.

In contrast, in the sieve filled with fibre, the red dye is largely absorbed by the green substance, preventing it from flowing freely into the water - a visual demonstration of how fibre slows the entry of carbohydrates into the bloodstream.

The nutritionist explains, “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. Versus when you're eating carbs on an empty stomach, it can rapidly get absorbed in your bloodstream, hence creating a greater sugar spike, worsening your diabetes.”

Through this simple experiment, Deepsikha highlights the role of fibre in slowing down glucose absorption from carbs, which is linked to lesser insulin resistance, in turn, reducing the risk of diabetes.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. It is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.