atlas
How many meals should people eat every day? The research on human physiology shows that when to eat is controlled by biological clock, and three meals a day (morning, noon and evening) is the most reasonable meal for people engaged in daily work.
During the day, various digestive enzymes in the human body are secreted actively and have strong digestion and absorption ability. The so-called "one meal is hungry." The brain is the organ that consumes the most energy, and it needs110-150g glucose to provide energy every day. Usually only about 50 grams of glucose can be provided per meal. Therefore, three meals a day can ensure enough energy sources for the brain.
It takes 30-60 seconds for solid food to travel from esophagus to stomach, and it stays in stomach for about 4 hours before reaching small intestine. Therefore, eating a meal every 4-5 hours is also in line with the physiological rhythm of the digestive tract.
With the acceleration of the pace of work and life, more and more people can't attend to breakfast. Breakfast is the beginning of a day's energy and the basic guarantee for work and study in the morning. If you don't eat breakfast, you will lack energy and nutrition. Clinical studies have found that skipping breakfast is related to the occurrence of stomach diseases and gallstones. Skipping breakfast will also lead to hunger, which will lead to excessive energy intake at lunch and cause metabolic burden to the body.
Skipping dinner is also harmful to health. If you don't eat dinner for a long time at night, your body will be in a "low consumption" state. After a long time, the relevant mechanism of regulating your metabolism will change, which is manifested in the decline of basal metabolic rate, muscle decomposition, fat redistribution and decreased resistance. If you don't eat dinner, you will eat a lot for breakfast and lunch. If you encounter a body with decreased basal metabolism, obesity and fatty liver will naturally occur.
So, how to reasonably match three meals a day?
A perfect breakfast needs 4-5 kinds of food: milk, eggs, beans (soybean milk) can be selected from three kinds, vegetables should be at least 1 kind, and two staple foods (oats, steamed bread, etc. ) and 1 kind of fruit.
A hearty lunch needs 5-6 kinds of food: 1 kind of lean meat, fish and shrimp, tofu, bean skin, at least 2 kinds of vegetables such as green leafy vegetables, and 2 kinds of staple foods (miscellaneous grains and beans, rice, steamed cakes, steamed bread, etc. ).
A simple dinner needs 4-5 kinds of food: the choice of food is similar to that of lunch, and you can make vegetable shredded pork soup (fish fillets and tofu) to reduce the amount of vegetable oil.
Of course, people with large energy demand but limited digestion and absorption ability can enjoy the "privilege" of adding meals, including children, pregnant women, the elderly and malnourished patients. Snacks can be properly added between meals. Additional foods include milk and dairy products, nuts, biscuits and bread, fruits, etc.
The ancients said "no food in the afternoon", which is in line with their schedule. The ancients went to bed early and got up early, and usually went to bed at 9 pm. Modern people's biological clock changes, they sleep late and work hard, and their demand for energy is much higher than that of the ancients. Blind imitation of the ancients is not only bad for health, but also increases the risk of illness.
(The author is the deputy chief physician of the Nutrition Department of China-Japan Friendship Hospital)