The importance of maintaining regular meal timings
If you believe that the only two parameters to good health are a healthy diet and exercise, think again. There is another important factor that often goes unnoticed. We are talking about meal timings here. Your body requires discipline to be healthy and the time and interval at which you have your meal are as significant as the food you consume. Here are the reasons why meal timings are necessary:
It regulates your body cycle
Right nutrients, a good sleep cycle, and disciplined meal timings are all the forces that are in our control and we must make sure to maintain them. It's through these habits that the body gets used to a cyclic rhythm. Thus, it's very important to be disciplined with all your meal timings to maintain that order of the body.
Boosts up Metabolism
The time at which you eat your food also determines your metabolism. When we get up in the morning, our metabolism is at its highest. It is suggested to eat breakfast within two hours after getting up in the morning. If you do not fuel your body at this time, your body will not be able to sustain the metabolic rate. As the day passes, your metabolism slows down.
Helps in Detoxification of the body
Your body receives a lot of things when you eat food. Detoxification is done by the liver and it is a major activity. When you eat a meal at 10 pm or later than that, very close to your bedtime, this puts pressure on your body as it's when you sleep that the liver does the detoxification process.Thus, to not disturb the detoxification process, you should eat your dinner on time.
The ideal gap between breakfast lunch and dinner
Your body takes 3-4 hours to digest a meal properly. Thus, the gap between the two meals should not be more than 4 hours. A gap longer than this can lead to acidity. You must eat snacks and fruits in between the meal. You should have at least 2 snacks between your breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The ideal time to have your breakfast lunch and dinner
Breakfast: According to experts, one should eat breakfast within two hours of getting up. Not doing so can slow down your metabolism. The sooner you eat your breakfast after getting up, the better it is for your metabolism and overall health.
Lunch: Our digestive power is the strongest between 12 pm to 2 pm. At this time, the body can digest the highly nutritious meal and absorb all the nutrients properly.
Dinner: One should eat their dinner latest by 8 pm maintaining a gap of 4 hours between lunch and dinner time. There should also be a gap of 2 hours between your bedtime and dinner. This gap helps in better digestion and in getting a good night's sleep.
Maladies of skipping meals and such lifestyle borne diseases:
Nowadays, people are getting busy and busier in their lives, and also in the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic situation, a lot of people are now confined in their houses, leading to lesser exposure to sunlight and physical activities, leading to a more disorganized schedule of daily lives, leading to several lifestyles borne ailments.
People are having meals at uneven times, and also resorting to increased consumption of junk food such as fried and processed food which are harmful to the digestion in the human body which in turn is affecting their metabolism cycle, leading to problems like obesity, increased chances of heart problems, in both males and females. In females diseases like PCOS, PCOD delayed periods, and skin problems can occur.
Conclusion
Skipping meals and uneven timings of consumption of meals could lead to physical ailments which can cost life and money. To avoid such a situation one has to follow adequate eating timings and patterns with some physical exercise.
