Disturbed Meal Cycle Can Affect Your Bowel System and Digestion

Dr.Sharad Malhotra, 3 mins read

• What does a normal meal cycle signify?

The fundamental requirement for a healthy, comfortable life of general well-being, is a good and nutritious diet. The normal meal food cycle is culturally distinct and signifies different meanings for different populations.

In general, an average meal cycle would possibly constitute a pattern of breakfast, lunch, dinner and possibly two small snacks in between. This would differ in geographical and ethnic populations, who would possibly have different time zones, work and lifestyles, changing the times of meal consumption and what is referred to as eating occasions or eating events.

• What extent of changes in the meal pattern would be considered as a disturbed meal cycle?

In today’s scenario of rapid urbanization and pattern of unhealthy food consumption, the normal timings of meals are getting affected. If you are not eating, say breakfast in the morning or eating, while driving to work, then it is not a good idea.

A normal day’s eating is either not happening at the warranted time or is getting delayed by hours leading to poor digestion and pre-disposition towards metabolic disturbances and illnesses.

In our practice, we come across patients who either are not eating, say breakfast in time or sometimes eating at hours possibly overlapping with other meal times, leading to clustering of calorie intake, usage of calorie-dense and poor-quality food, which provides more satisfaction/satiety than nutrition and health.

• Who all are prone to disturbed meal cycles? Does any specific lifestyle habit result into an unrecognized disturbance in the meal cycle?

Any individual who routinely does not eat on time is pre-disposed to a disturbed meal cycle. This includes shift workers who have varying times of sleeping and working, students during examination time, people working in healthcare facilities like doctors, nurses and other paramedical staff or anyone who indulges in a routine disturbance in meal timings are prone to digestion-related abnormalities. Also, people who suffer from various illnesses, which affect their sleep-wake cycle due to illness, pain or drugs, also suffer from the same problems.

Ironically with the advancement of technology and 24x7 availability of food, we have started eating more inappropriately. We tend to watch movies or consume social media till late at night, sleep late and get up late, rush to the office, meet unreasonable deadlines and either skip breakfast or eat in our cars; junk food at the wrong times, adds to burden on our digestive systems.

• Harms that a disturbed meal cycle can cause to the bowel system and overall health.

The rise in non-communicable diseases can be partially attributed to poor eating quality and wrong food timings.  Our bodies have a certain rhythm called circadian rhythm where all body functions have their own periodicity depending on the time and activity of the day. Ancient wisdom, whether in the eastern or western world, always talked about – Eating breakfast like a king, Lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar and it holds true for good digestive principles. A large meal at the start of the day jump-starts us for a busy day ahead. Eating small meals in time allows for good digestion, better gastrointestinal motility and usage of energy efficiently by the liver and less stress on digestive organs.

Research suggests an increased incidence of obesity, hormonal disturbances, fatty liver and hypertension with obvious problems in glucose control for people eating at odd and wrong times. Due to frequent snacking, and inappropriate and calorie-rich foods, the pediatric population is especially affected in this regard as childhood obesity, fatty liver, hypertension and hormonal abnormalities are rising in urban vis a vis rural population.

• Tips for people to avoid a disturbed meal cycle

Eat on time, consistently and have a balanced diet. Meals especially balanced in their protein, fats and carbohydrate content are ideal for good health. The food intake should be distributed evenly and small meals are good for metabolism. Nutrition experts may differ in the extent of food portions but are unanimous about small meals, usage of fruits and vegetables in abundance and gradation of energy intake from morning to evening. Try eating approximately at the same time so that it coincides with our circadian rhythm and leads to better nutrition optimization.

• How people can restore their health and a normal meal cycle if it is already disturbed?

Well, each day is a new day and starting the day is very important. Rise in time, walk around for 20-30 minutes and have a healthy and nutritious breakfast. Although portions will differ in the same area, ethnicity and even states in our country, it is prudent to take a protein-rich meal in the morning and possibly the heaviest meal of the day. A small fruit or a snack at say around 11 am and lunch at 2 pm, followed by another snack at 5 pm and dinner at 8 pm is optimal for most of the people. Frequency and patterning of meals is essential to determine good energy intake and correct nutritional availability. Avoid too fat-rich fried food in the evenings and go easy on your dinner, if possible. A late-night supper is a good idea if feeling hungry but avoid too many sweets and sugary items.

• How people in-corporates can balance their meal cycle along with their hectic job life?

It is at times important to understand that your body rhythm is not dependent on the job profile, but on how you take care of it. Eating timely is the least you can do for your own self. Gradation of meals in time and quantity is the best way to guard yourself from meal-related cycle disturbances. The time of meal eating is as important as the quantity and quality of meals. A rule of thumb is breakfast between 0700 to 1000 hrs, lunch 1200 to 1400 hours and dinner between 1900 to 2100 hours with two small snacks in between. For a normal individual good protein intake and cutting down on fats and carbohydrate intake as culturally appropriate will help manage your waistline and prevent many lifestyle illnesses.  So dear friends, eat well, eat timely and eat healthy for a balanced and healthy life.

Also Read: Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity