野菜の先食いとは？食べる順番と実践方法を解説

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野菜を最初に食べることには、食後の満足感や食習慣の見直しなど、さまざまなメリットがあるとされています。

The effects of eating vegetables first (veggie-first) are five: curbing sharp blood-sugar spikes, increasing fullness, improving the gut environment, curbing fat absorption, and a natural increase in vegetable intake. Research at Osaka Prefecture University also found post-meal blood sugar came out 100–150 mg/dL lower. We explain how to eat a fist or two of vegetables in the right order at every meal, and effective vegetables such as broccoli, burdock, and okra.

今回は、野菜の先食いのポイントと、効果的な実践方法について詳しく解説します。忙しい現代人でも無理なく続けられる、健康的な食習慣を身につけるヒントになれば幸いです。

野菜の先食いのポイント

The daily vegetable intake recommended by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is 350 g, but the Japanese average intake stands at only about 280 g. Against a backdrop where many people can't get the vegetables they need, eating vegetables first is also drawing attention as an efficient way to get vegetables.

1. 食後の満足感を得やすい

野菜を先に食べると、食物繊維、特に水溶性食物繊維の働きで、胃腸内をゆっくりと移動します。

食事の最初に野菜を取り入れることで、食後の満足感も得られやすくなります。

食べる順番を意識することは、食生活を整えるうえで注目されています。

Blood sugar rises when you eat, but if that rise is sharp or blood sugar stays high for a long time, the inner walls of blood vessels are more easily damaged, raising the future risk of lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes.

Research at Osaka Prefecture University

found that with the same meal, eating vegetables first made the post-meal blood-sugar rise 100–150 mg/dL lower. This is a highly important effect in preventing and managing diabetes.

2. Easier to feel full

Vegetables are rich in dietary fiber and can't be swallowed without chewing well. As your number of chews naturally increases, the brain's satiety center is stimulated and appetite is curbed. Since you feel satisfied even with a smaller amount of staple food, cutting back on rice for health or beauty feels less painful.

This isn't just a one-meal effect. Over the long term, it leads to reduced total calorie intake and helps with weight management too.

4. 食物繊維をしっかり摂れる

野菜の食物繊維は、食後の満足感にもつながります。食物繊維の多い野菜から先に食べる方法が知られています。

Furthermore, since about 70% of the body's immune cells are in the gut, regulating the gut environment can be expected to support overall physical condition too. Building the habit of eating vegetables first at every meal naturally increases your daily dietary-fiber intake.

4. Curbs fat absorption

The dietary fiber in vegetables also works to slow fat absorption. For younger people in particular, eating fiber-rich vegetables first slows the absorption of fat along with carbohydrates. This curbs the sharp post-meal rise in triglycerides and supports building a body less prone to putting on fat.

5. A natural increase in vegetable intake

Simple as it is, building the habit of eating vegetables first naturally increases your vegetable intake. For people who don't usually eat many vegetables, it becomes a sure way to increase vegetable intake.

You can also expect an effect of preventing overeating of staple foods. Research too found that the group practicing veggie-first eating increased their vegetable intake and decreased their intake of rice and fruit compared with the group that didn't.

How to practice eating vegetables first effectively

Eating vegetables first is easy to start — just change the order in which you eat. But there are a few points for heightening the effect.The correct eating order

The most effective eating order is as follows.Vegetables first

: Eat fiber-rich vegetables, mushrooms, and seaweedProtein next

: Take in protein such as meat, fish, and soy products

Carbohydrates last

: Eat carbohydrates like rice, bread, and noodles

Vegetables can be not only raw but also boiled or steamed, or heated by simmering or stir-frying. Eat seaweed and mushrooms first too, just like vegetables, chewing slowly and well.

However, not all vegetables are the same. Take care with vegetables relatively high in carbohydrates, such as potatoes, kabocha squash, and corn — even eaten first, they don't deliver as much effect as you'd expect.

ブロッコリー、ごぼう、ほうれん草、オクラなど、食物繊維を多く含む野菜がおすすめです。

Burdock (about 5.7 g of dietary fiber per 100 g)Spinach (about 2.8 g of dietary fiber per 100 g)

Okra (about 5.0 g of dietary fiber per 100 g)

Soluble fiber is also said to be highly effective at curbing blood-sugar rises. Actively working in seaweed (kombu, wakame) and mushrooms is a good idea too.

If you can't eat all this at once, working in dried vegetables is recommended too!

Cautions when practicing it

There are a few cautions when practicing eating vegetables first.

First, vegetable juice contains almost no dietary fiber, so the veggie-first effect can't be expected. Also, store-bought vegetable juice sometimes has added fructose or oligosaccharides.

Potato salad, kabocha salad, corn salad, and the like are also high in carbohydrates, so the effect is limited even eaten first.

Also, beyond being mindful of the eating order, eating slowly and chewing well is essential. There's research showing that eating fast makes you more prone to gaining weight. Aim for 30 chews per mouthful and chew thoroughly.

Tips for working eating vegetables first into daily life

Eating vegetables first is simple in theory, but keeping it up long-term takes a few tweaks. Here we introduce tips for working it into daily life without strain. There will be times when the ideal way of eating is hard, such as eating out or busy mornings. In those cases, the trick to lasting is not aiming for perfection but practicing it to the extent you can.

How to practice it at home

At home, be mindful of serving a vegetable side dish or salad first at meals. For Japanese meals, putting ohitashi, sunomono, or salad on the table first is recommended.

Also, packing miso soup with plenty of vegetables and eating just the ingredients first is effective. For simmered and stir-fried dishes too, be mindful of eating the vegetables first. On busy mornings, prepping — like cutting vegetables the day before — is handy. Using pre-cut vegetables is another option.

How to practice it when eating out or at the office

When eating out, be mindful of ordering a salad first, or eating the vegetables first once the main dish arrives.

The same goes for lunchtime at the office. If you bring a bento, packing the vegetable dishes on top and other order-conscious tweaks are a good idea.

野菜の先食いは、食べる順番を変えるだけの手軽な方法です。満腹感や食習慣づくりなど、さまざまな面で役立つとされています。

How about it? Eating vegetables first isn't difficult, is it?

食後の満足感を得やすい

Eating vegetables first — as simple as changing the eating order — is a way of eating from which you can expect many health benefits, such as curbing sharp blood-sugar spikes, increasing fullness, and improving the gut environment.

To sum up the effects, they are the following five:

食物繊維をしっかり摂れる

Easier to feel full

Regulates the gut environment

厚生労働省が推奨する1日350gの野菜摂取量に対し、日本人の平均摂取量は約280gにとどまっています。野菜の先食いを習慣にして、自然と野菜摂取量を増やしていきましょう。今日からでも、まずは一食から試してみませんか？

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