Should We Eat 5 Meals A Day?
The famous phrase “you have to eat 5 meals a day” depends on several factors, as well as on each one. Indeed, quality is more important than quantity.
You have certainly already heard that you have to eat 5 meals a day. Either because it helps you lose weight, or to speed up the metabolism, or because you have to eat every 3 hours so as not to feel hungry. But, what is true about all of this?
How many meals should I eat per day?
Generalizing that you have to eat 5 meals a day is not the best thing. Indeed, it will depend on each person: hunger, routine, work, schedules, physical activity, etc.
If we force ourselves to eat in the middle of the morning and at snack time, we may be opting for foods that we should not be ingesting. For example, sweets, juices, soft drinks, crisps, cold cuts, sugary dairy products… Often, we choose these foods as a snack rather than healthier foods.
Therefore, the quality of the meals is more important than the quantity. It is better to eat 3 healthy meals in the day instead of 5 with unhealthy foods.
So what are the most important meals? What happens if I skip breakfast? There are no meals that are more important than others, and nothing happens if you don’t eat breakfast because you’re not hungry. Or if you have lunch at 12 p.m. instead of 7 a.m.
Is it true that eating 5 meals a day speeds up the metabolism?
This idea comes from the fact that when we eat, we expend energy to be able to digest and break down all the food. This is called the thermogenic effect of food.
But it turns out that the calories used in digestion are more or less proportional to the volume of food consumed and the type of macronutrients. In other words, if we consume a diet of 2000 calories per day, it does not matter if we distribute them in 3 meals rather than 5, because the thermogenic effect will be the same.
The journal The Journal of Nutrition published a study in which the authors conclude that there is no strong scientific evidence to suggest that increasing the frequency of meals is positive to lose weight.
What happens in the event of a fast?
We must eat when we are hungry. Indeed, we have a mechanism of hunger and satiety controlled by hormones, ghrelin and leptin, which do this job. In addition, it is also essential not to force children to eat.
In addition, healthy adults, without special circumstances such as athletes or pregnant women, can go several hours without eating, or even a whole day. If we fast for several hours and consume glucose from the blood, the body uses liver and muscle glucose stores.
Once these reserves are exhausted, gluconeogenesis is activated. This is the manufacture of glucose from proteolysis and lipolysis (destruction of muscle mass and adipose tissue). This then generates ketone bodies which are expelled through the urine.
In fact, intermittent fasting can be a great way to lose weight for some people. This fast consists of going 16 hours without eating, which is like skipping breakfast. However, professional supervision is preferable.
When is it important to eat 5 meals a day?
- To control anxiety and hunger: if you eat 5 meals a day, it is very likely that you are less hungry and that the quantities are thus better controlled. On the other hand, if you skip a meal, you can go home hungry and eat a lot more than you should.
- In the case of certain pathologies, such as diabetes: to prevent the onset of hypoglycemia and to maintain constant sugar levels in the blood
- For athletes who have to ingest large amounts of food: it is therefore easier to do it in 5 meals rather than 3. Controlling the time and the optimal time to eat is also more practical
Conclusion…
It is best to create a meal routine. If you are used to eating 5 times a day, it will be difficult to switch to 3 meals, and vice versa. It is therefore wise to individualize each case.
Indeed, the most important is to consume healthy and satiating foods. With a good food choice, the number of daily meals will not matter so much and will depend on each person.
