The break between meals should not exceed. Eating mode

Nutritionists and physiologists recommend doing a break in food on average 4-5 hours, the maximum break that occurs at night should not exceed 11-12 hours. During this period, food should be digested in the stomach and empty the small intestine.

Eating is needed to replenish energy and nutrients necessary for the normal functioning of the body. After mechanical grinding of food in the oral cavity during chewing, chemical processing of chyme occurs. It starts in the stomach and continues in the small intestine. At the same time, complex chemical compounds (carbohydrates, fats, proteins) under the action of acids and enzymes are broken down into simple ones that are available for absorption.

During the time between meals, the pancreas and liver, synthesizing the secret to facilitate digestion, must have time to prepare for the next meal. This takes at least two hours. Thus, constant snacking every half an hour is useless. Incoming food will not be processed properly.

After the formed lump of chyme has passed the cavity of the stomach and small intestine, a wave of peristaltic complexes is launched. They are necessary to clear the lumen of residues "adhered" to the walls and accelerate their progress. Before the main volume of what is eaten has passed, “cleaning” will not begin and the remains will create wall stagnation, which complicates absorption and creates a substrate for fermentation and decay.

Thus, it is necessary to maintain a break between doses for adequate cleaning of the intestinal tube in its upper sections.

Is a long break between meals harmful?

A long break between meals is just as harmful as too short. This is due to the work of the digestive glands: the liver and pancreas. During the time between meals, they synthesize the secret. When meals are regular, the intervals between them are equal, a conditioned reflex is formed. The required amount of gastric and intestinal juice is prepared at the same time before each snack.

With the lengthening of the interval between meals, the secret stagnates in the ducts, creating conditions for the development of inflammatory processes and increasing the risk of pancreatitis, cholangitis and cholecystitis.

In addition, with a long break, the feeling of hunger increases. This encourages overeating. Even with prolonged fasting, a stressful situation is created, and with the next intake of food, the body begins to stock up on energy compounds, filling fat cells. This leads to weight gain.

What are the benefits of fractional nutrition

Fractional nutrition consists in regular meals every 4-5 hours. This contributes to the formation of conditioned reflexes for the production of digestive juices. In this case, the intestines have time to clean the walls after the previous meal.

This time between snacks also reduces the feeling of hunger and allows you to reduce portions. Thus, nutrition will not only prevent the development of pancreatitis and cholecystitis, but also lose weight.

How much food is digested?

Each product is digested for a different period of time. It has to do with the chemical structure of the food. So, proteins and fats take longer to break down, their digestion is energy-intensive. Simple sugars begin to be absorbed already in the oral cavity, as they are the main source of energy. Coarse vegetable fibers and fiber generally pass through the intestinal tube in transit and are necessary for adequate peristalsis and maintenance of microflora.

indigestible Easily digestible
  • meat and meat products - more than 4 hours;
  • fatty fish (sturgeon, salmon, mackerel, horse mackerel, and so on) - more than 3.5 hours;
  • animal fats (salted, smoked, baked and other types of fat, melted fat, etc.) - 4 hours;
  • vegetable fats (sunflower, olive, linseed and other oils) - 3.3-3.5 hours;
  • mayonnaise - the higher the percentage of fat content, the longer the digestion, from 3 to 3.5 hours;
  • butter - an average of 3.2 hours, also depends on fat content;
  • cheeses - 3.3-4 hours;
  • nuts - more than 3 hours;
  • vegetables containing coarse fiber (cabbage, eggplant, sweet peppers and others) - more than 3 hours;
  • confectionery (cakes, buns, pies and so on) - 3.5-4 hours.
  • fresh vegetables with a high moisture content (cucumbers, zucchini, leeks, tomatoes, and so on) - up to 2.5 hours;
  • fruits - 2-2.5 hours;
  • juices - 1 hour;
  • citrus fruits - 1-1.5 hours;
  • berries - up to 2.5 hours;
  • jam - up to 2 hours;
  • mushrooms - an average of 2.3 hours;
  • legumes - up to 3 hours;
  • cereals (the most rapidly digestible semolina, hercules, wheat) - up to 3 hours;
  • stale bread and crackers - up to 2.3 hours;
  • honey - 1.2 hours;
  • marmalade, caramel, sweets, chocolate - 1.5-2.5 hours;
  • milk - 2 hours;
  • dairy products(the lower the fat content, the faster) - an average of 1.5 hours;
  • alcohol - from 1 hour to 1.3.

Modern people are forced to constantly think about worldly problems, many of them are sorely lacking time for classes exercise and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, taking drugs with them is considered the most fast way treatment, which makes it possible to improve your well-being and not be distracted from everyday worries. You can’t be so careless about your health, and even more so take all the drugs that are advertised as the most effective, without a doctor’s prescription and in large quantities to get immediate results.

Each person carries responsibility for your health. For the successful treatment of any disease, do not take medicines, following only the instructions attached to the drug. Be sure to consult with your doctor and check with him the dose. If the doses indicated in the instructions and those prescribed by the doctor differ significantly, then check again with the attending physician for the correctness of his appointment. For the successful treatment of the disease, you should trust the doctors and not self-medicate, perhaps the doctor has good reason to prescribe the wrong dose for you, which is indicated in the instructions. It is possible to check the dose of the drug against an independent source of information, for example, in the Vidal, Mashkovsky, Compendium or Trinus drug reference book, which today can be easily found on various sites.

Food taken by the stomach is digested in 4 to 5 hours. All this time, the digestive glands are working, and after the end of the digestion process, it takes another hour for them to rest and be able to produce food again. required amount digestive juice containing mucus, enzymes, a little hydrochloric acid, for the subsequent digestion of food.

We have a simple equation: 4 - 5 hours + 1 hour = 5 - 6 hours. This is the required interval between meals. If after the main meal we want to have a snack (seeds, cookies, etc.), what happens in the body?

A new portion of food enters the stomach at a time when the previous portion has not yet been processed. In this case, the digestion of the first portion is suspended. The stomach, having not had time to digest the previous portion, is not ready to accept a new burden, because it does not yet have enough energy to process new food. Due to the long stay of food in the stomach, its fermentation begins, as a result, the blood is “clogged”, which is carried throughout the body to our cells. Mental activity is inhibited, mood worsens, irritation and anger appear (especially in children).

When snacking occurs over and over again, the digestive organs weaken, diseases appear. gastrointestinal tract(GIT), the whole body is overstrained. Reduces susceptibility to infections that provoke inflammatory processes up to peptic ulcer. There is a clogging of the gastrointestinal tract, and a person begins to resort to exhausting, costly and unsafe cleansing, often putting himself in the hands of not very literate people, or using dubious literature.
Studies have found that taking one serving of ice cream between meals slows down the digestion process by 3 hours, one banana - by 5 hours.

Think about it: the main meals and snacks are the ongoing work of the digestive tract! Let's remember history. During their rise, the Greeks and Romans generally ate once a day. Dr. Oswald writes: “For more than a thousand years, single meals were the rule in two countries that were able to mobilize armies of men who marched for days with a load of iron ammunition, not counting clothes and provisions that would topple a modern porter.” And he writes, "Among the factors that have been put forward as an explanation for their physical, mental, and moral decline was the sensual obsession with food that came with power and wealth."

Although more healthy eating should include two or three meals a day, the above conclusion gives us the right to consider how the frequency of eating affects the person as a whole.

Diana Kirovich,
St. Petersburg, Master of Public Health

Throughout human evolution, the diet of our species has not been regular. As in the case of the animals around us, the frequency of feeding depended on the availability of food. And it was often necessary to extract it in the literal sense of the word “blood and sweat”.

In the context of evolution, frequent eating is a very recent innovation, and is most likely due to unprecedented access to food 24/7 in our history.

Eating is always easy - attractive, constant food is addictive. Eating less often or not eating at all for some time is tantamount to torment, deprivation and severe stress for many.

In the meantime, recent scientific research suggests that in the long term, the practice of snacking and small intervals between meals can lead to negative consequences for good health.

How does the body react to small meals?

It's all about, as is often the case, our hormonal response to food. Every time you and I put something in our mouths, often without thinking about it, a whole cascade of reactions takes place in the body at the cellular level.

We must digest all the food that has come in, assimilate it, get rid of the remnants, and then do something with the energy received. Let's take a closer look at the last step.

The hormone insulin plays an important role in the distribution of energy received in our body. It is produced in response to almost every meal. Not only sugar, but also protein. We get the minimum insulin response for eating fat.

Insulin is an important hormone for health, but, as with everything, balance is very important with it. With frequent meals and the insulin response that accompanies it, the constant presence of insulin and its "imposition" of energy on cells leads to the fact that they (the cells) develop a protective reaction.

Cells become less sensitive to insulin. The further, the more, which leads to the development of insulin resistance. This condition underlies such chronic diseases as metabolic syndrome, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease, etc.

This is not an instantaneous process and is not universal in its impact on health. Its (insulin resistance) development and manifestation of symptoms depends on factors such as genetics, health status, physical activity, sleep, stress level.

What changes when we eat less often?

Increased cell sensitivity to insulin. The cells have time to spend the received energy and they do not have to defend themselves against its action. Due to a more effective action, the level of insulin decreases, and with it, among other things, excess weight disappears.

Adaptation to use fat for energy. Lowering insulin levels “opens the way” for us to burn fat, while the vast majority of people these days default to burning sugar. Meanwhile, our physiology is adapted to burning fat, at least not worse than burning sugar. Fat as a source of energy also has a number of health benefits. It's a cleaner fuel that burns less of the oxidative stress and inflammation that underlies aging and chronic disease.

Strengthening/restoring the immune system. Digestion of food is inevitably accompanied by inflammatory processes and oxidative stress. That is why during acute illnesses, like colds, appetite is temporarily suppressed. During fasting, the synthesis of inflammatory signaling molecules is suppressed, the immune system has the opportunity to “calm down” and recover.

Recovery from chronic diseases. Therapeutic starvation is now actively used for therapeutic purposes to recover from a number of chronic diseases that are “incurable” in the opinion of modern medicine, such as autoimmune (colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease), type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. One of the most unique and powerful mechanisms through which recovery occurs is autophagy. For describing this effect of starvation, the Japanese received Nobel Prize in physiology.

How to start eating less?

There's a reason many of us find it so difficult to skip meals. The release is accompanied by such unpleasant symptoms as headache, dizziness, irritability, mood swings.

All these are indirect signs of dysregulation of blood sugar - its sharp drops. This is also a sign that your body has forgotten how to burn fat for energy and requires another serving of sugar.

By sugar, I mean not only something that tastes sweet, but also flour, cereals, legumes, root vegetables. Sometimes you have to limit all of the above products for a while in order to restore the body's ability to deal with them.

A transitional diet that will allow you to endure long periods without food without discomfort is based on plenty of vegetables, greens, pure animal sources of protein (as sugar free), healthy fats from wild fish, eggs, grass-fed meat, nuts, seeds, in a small amount of berries and fruits.

This is a process of varying duration, which for many people can be quite painful.

But upon its completion, it is able to give many useful and pleasant bonuses, including clarity of thought, improved memory and concentration, weight loss, improvement in many chronic diseases.

Another valuable gift you will receive is freedom. Freedom from food, from the fact that every 3-4 hours you need to take / cook something somewhere. You are free to eat or not eat, depending on the circumstances and your mood.

You no longer have to run to the first eatery or kiosk with pies in an unfamiliar place, “stepping on your throat” is lunch on the plane.

And this happens without negative feelings - the body automatically switches to burning fat. You remain joyful, full of energy and strength!

What are the optimal intervals between meals?

An indicative interval for healthy carbohydrate metabolism, that is, healthy regulation of blood sugar levels, is the 6-hour interval between meals. If you can easily withstand it, then your body is adapted to burning fat, does not depend on sugar, it has time in the form of these gaps to recover.

Recently, the practice of intermittent fasting - a long interval between meals - has gained great popularity and success as a therapeutic tool.

There are many variations of intermittent fasting. This practice can be adapted to your personal preferences, schedule and tasks. Experiment to see what works for you.

Common Intermittent Fasting Intervals:

The 12-hour fast described above is from dinner to breakfast. You finish dinner at 19 and start breakfast at 7.

The 4 pm, “brunch fast” – you finish dinner at 7 pm and then don't eat your next meal until 11 am, the time that brunch is served in English-speaking countries.

An 8-hour eating window – that is, you eat during the day, for 8 hours – usually means 2 meals a day. On a regular basis suitable for trained people.

How to get out of fasting

With the intervals described above, which do not exceed one and a half days, you will not need to do anything special to return to food.

Maybe start with something easy to digest, like stock, egg yolk, cooked vegetables. It is important that it is not sugar in any form - to avoid blood sugar spikes and dysregulation after you have spent the effort to restore it.

Give yourself 15-30 minutes after something light and then eat a full meal. A full meal after a period of fasting is a signal to the body that everything is in order and it should not perceive the situation as stressful.

Therefore, eat until you are full, however, try to do it measuredly and consciously so that you don’t miss its (satiation) signs!

Be healthy!

May 02, 2017 // from https://website/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/empty-plate.jpg 545 903 Julia Bogdanova /i/logo.pngJulia Bogdanova 2017-05-02 18:30:23 2019-07-09 13:00:49 Optimal meal frequency: how many times a day to eat to stay healthy

The main rule is to use antibiotics only in cases where it is impossible to do without them. Indications for the use of antibiotics - the appearance of signs of an acute bacterial infection, which the body cannot cope with on its own:

  • Persistent and prolonged temperature increase
  • Purulent discharge
  • Changes in the composition of the blood - an increase in leukocytes (leukocytosis), a shift in the leukocyte formula to the left (an increase in stab and segmented leukocytes),
  • After a period of improvement, the patient's condition worsens again.

It is known that antibiotics are powerless against viruses. Therefore, with influenza, SARS, and some acute intestinal infections, their use is pointless and not safe (see whether to drink). What else does everyone need to know to take antibiotics correctly?

Rule 2: Write down all the information you have taken before on antibiotics.

When, what antibiotics, what course, for what diseases - write down. This is especially true when taking medications for children. When using antibiotics, it is important to pay attention to any side effects or allergies and write them down. The doctor will not be able to adequately select an antibiotic for you, in the case when he does not have information - which, in what doses, you or your child took antibiotics before. It is also worth telling your doctor about other drugs that you are taking (permanently or right now).

Rule 3: Never ask your doctor for antibiotics

Your doctor may also prescribe antimicrobial agents for you without special indications, if you insist. The use of antibiotics significantly speeds up recovery, but this is not always justified. Moreover, do not ask the pharmacy for “something” stronger. Stronger does not mean more efficient. Sometimes a pharmacy may offer to replace one drug with a similar one, in this case it is better to agree on such a replacement with the doctor or check with the pharmacist the composition and active substance so as not to violate the dosage prescribed by the doctor.

Rule 4: Take a culture test to select the “best” antibiotic

For some diseases, it is ideal when it is possible to take tests for bacterial culture with the determination of sensitivity to antibiotics. When there is laboratory data, the selection of an antibiotic is simplified and in this case the treatment is obtained with sniper accuracy. The disadvantage of this analysis is that it takes 2 to 7 days to wait for the result.

Rule 5: Strictly observe the time and frequency of admission

Always maintain equal intervals between antibiotic doses. This is necessary to maintain a constant concentration of the drug in the blood. Many people mistakenly perceive information about the frequency of intake, if it is recommended to take 3 times a day, this does not mean that the intake should be for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This means that the reception is carried out after 8 hours. If 2 times a day, then exactly after 12 hours.

Rule 6: How many days to take antibiotics?

Usually 5-7 days are enough, sometimes the period of taking an antibiotic is 10-14 days. Powerful long-acting antibiotics, such as Azithromycin (Sumamed, Azitrox, Zi-factor, Azitsid, Hemomycin, Ecomed) are taken once a day for 3 days or 5 days, in severe cases, the doctor may prescribe the following scheme: drink 3 days, 3 days off - and so 3 doses. The duration of antibiotics is determined by the doctor.

Rule 7: Continuity of treatment

If a course of antibiotics is started, in no case should you stop treatment as soon as you feel better. It is worth continuing treatment after 2-3 days after improvement, recovery. You should also monitor the effect of the antibiotic. If no improvement is observed within 72 hours, then the pathogen is resistant to this antibiotic and should be replaced.

Rule 8: Never try to adjust the dosage of an antibiotic

The use of drugs in small doses is very dangerous, as it increases the likelihood of resistant bacteria. Increasing the dose is also not safe, as it leads to overdose and side effects.

Rule 9: What to drink and when to drink an antibiotic?

Be sure to follow the instructions for taking the specific medication correctly, as different antibiotics have different food dependencies:

  • alone - should be taken with food
  • others - drink one hour before meals or 1-2 hours after meals
  • it is recommended to drink any medicines only with water, clean, non-carbonated
  • it is not recommended to drink antibiotics with milk and fermented milk products, as well as tea, coffee and juices (but there are exceptions, read the instructions carefully).

Rule 10: Take Probiotics

During treatment, it is worth taking drugs that restore the natural intestinal microflora (Linex, Narine, Gastrofarm, Primadophilus, Rela life, Normoflorin, etc., all). Since antibacterial agents destroy beneficial bacteria in the body, it is necessary to take probiotics, consume fermented milk products (separate from taking antibiotics). It is better to take these drugs in between taking antimicrobial agents.

Rule 11: Follow a special diet when taking antibiotics

It is worth giving up fatty foods, fried, smoked meats and canned foods, excluding alcohol and sour fruits. Taking antibiotics depresses the liver, therefore, food should not overload the liver too much. Include more vegetables, sweet fruits, white bread in your diet.