Food accompanies us throughout our lives. In a person's lifetime, about 50 tons or more of food enter our bodies and have a huge and profound impact on our health.
Therefore, the intake of three meals a day is very important for us. How should we eat these three meals a day to be more nutritious and scientific? Nutrition experts here will guide you. The "Seven Sins" of Skipping Breakfast
People who skip breakfast tend to eat more for the rest of the day and prefer high-calorie foods. As a result, they are more likely to feel tired, have difficulty concentrating, become irritable, and gain weight. Below are seven common symptoms of people who skip breakfast.
1. Poor concentration and reduced work efficiency From falling asleep to waking up is the longest period of fasting in a day. Without breakfast to supply glucose, blood sugar in the brain is very low, which can easily lead to fatigue, slow reactions, poor concentration, and lethargy in the morning.
2. Prone to digestive tract diseases Skipping breakfast and then overeating at lunch and dinner disrupts the physiological rhythm of the digestive system, inducing intestinal and other gastrointestinal diseases.
3. Can increase cholesterol The cholesterol level in the blood of people who skip breakfast is 33% higher than that of those who eat breakfast every day. High cholesterol can lead to fatty streaks in blood vessels, which is an early sign of atherosclerosis.
4. Prone to gallstones When a person is fasting, the concentration of cholesterol in bile is particularly high. Under normal circumstances of eating breakfast, the gallbladder contracts, and cholesterol is excreted with bile. If you skip breakfast, the gallbladder does not contract, and over time, it can easily lead to gallstones.
5. Can lead to obesity When fasting, the body's protective function for storing energy is enhanced, so the food eaten is easily absorbed. Even if what is absorbed is sugar, it is easily converted to subcutaneous fat, causing fat accumulation and obesity.
6. Dry skin, wrinkles, and anemia Skipping breakfast forces the body to use its stored glycogen and proteins. Over time, this can lead to dry skin, wrinkles, and anemia, accelerating aging.
7. Prone to colds, cardiovascular diseases Malnutrition leads to a decrease in the body's resistance, making one more susceptible to various diseases such as colds and cardiovascular diseases. A friendly tip: The best time for breakfast: 7~8 AM
When people sleep, most of their organs get sufficient rest, but the digestive organs continue to digest and absorb the food left in the gastrointestinal tract from dinner, only gradually entering a resting state in the morning. If you eat breakfast too early, it will inevitably interfere with the rest of the gastrointestinal tract, keeping the digestive system in a state of fatigue and stress for a long time, disrupting the rhythm of gastrointestinal motility. Therefore, it is most suitable to eat breakfast about 7 AM, that is, 20-30 minutes after getting up. In addition, there should be a 4-5 hour interval between breakfast and lunch, which means it is best to eat breakfast between 7-8 AM.
Two Dos and Don'ts for Breakfast
Soft is better than hard: In the morning, the body's gastrointestinal function is sluggish, often making people lose their appetite, especially for the elderly. Therefore, breakfast should not include greasy, fried, dry, hard, or highly stimulating foods, as this can easily lead to indigestion. Breakfast should consist of easily digestible, warm, and soft foods, such as milk, soy milk, noodles, wontons, and it is best to have some porridge.
Less is better than more: Overeating will exceed the digestive capacity of the gastrointestinal tract, and food will not be digested and absorbed. Over time, this will reduce digestive function, cause gastrointestinal disorders, and lead to gastrointestinal diseases. In addition, a large amount of food residue is stored in the large intestine, where it is decomposed by bacteria. The decomposition products of protein, such as phenol, can enter the human blood through the intestinal wall, which is very harmful to the body and can easily lead to vascular diseases. Therefore, breakfast should not be skipped, but it should not be too heavy either.
Foods suitable for breakfast
Foods rich in high-quality protein: such as eggs, milk, sausage, soy milk, etc.
Foods rich in vitamin C: such as juice, vegetables, fruits, etc.
Carbohydrate-rich staple foods: such as bread, steamed buns, twisted rolls, etc.
Liquid foods rich in water: such as rice porridge, milk, soy milk, juice, etc.
Appetizing foods that increase appetite: such as juice, tomato juice, pickles, etc.
Foods not suitable for breakfast
The most important meal of the day—Lunch
The role of lunch can be summarized in four words: "connecting the past and the future." It must not only compensate for the energy consumed from breakfast to lunch (about 4-5 hours) but also prepare the necessary nutritional reserves for the next 3-4 hours of work and study in the afternoon. If you don't have a good and satisfying lunch, you may experience obvious hypoglycemia after several hours of heavy work (especially between 3-5 PM), manifested as dizziness, drowsiness, reduced work efficiency, and even palpitations and cold sweats. In severe cases, it can lead to coma. The choice of lunch food is a science; it should provide 35% of the total energy for the whole day. This energy should come from sufficient staple foods, an appropriate amount of meat, fats, and vegetables. Like breakfast, lunch should not be too greasy. Here are 6 lunch foods we recommend to you
Anti-aging food—Broccoli
Reason for recommendation: Broccoli is rich in antioxidants vitamin C and carotene. Cruciferous vegetables have been scientifically proven to be the best anti-aging and anti-cancer foods.
The best source of protein—Fish
Reason for recommendation: Fish can provide a large amount of high-quality protein with an extremely high rate of digestion and absorption, making it the best choice for supplementing high-quality protein. At the same time, fish has a very low cholesterol content, so you get high-quality protein without taking in more cholesterol. Studies have shown that eating more fresh fish also helps prevent cardiovascular diseases.
Blood-lowering food—Onion
Reason for recommendation: Onions can purify the blood and help lower cholesterol.
Antioxidant food—Tofu
Reason for recommendation: In addition to lean meat and fish and shellfish, tofu is also a good source of protein. At the same time, legumes contain a chemical substance called "isoflavone," which is an effective antioxidant. "Oxidation" means "aging."
Energy-boosting food—Cabbage
Reason for recommendation: Cabbage is also a cruciferous vegetable, rich in vitamin C and fiber, which promotes gastrointestinal motility and keeps the digestive system young and vibrant.
Beauty-enhancing food—Fresh fruits and vegetables
Reason for recommendation: Fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Carotene is the best element for anti-aging. In addition, fresh fruits and vegetables rich in dietary fiber can also promote the health of the colon and rectum and help detoxify.
Dinner and Eight Diseases
Dinner and Obesity Eating dinner too late leads to excess calories being synthesized into fat and stored in the body, which can cause weight gain. The calories consumed at dinner should not exceed 30% of the total daily intake, which is crucial for preventing and controlling obesity.
Dinner and Pancreatitis A rich and heavy dinner, combined with excessive drinking, can easily induce acute pancreatitis, causing shock during sleep. If there are already stones, ascaris obstructions, or chronic biliary tract infections in the ampulla of Vater, it is more likely to cause sudden death due to induced acute pancreatitis.
Dinner and Kidney Stones The peak time for urination is usually 4-5 hours after a meal. If dinner is too late, the urine produced after dinner will be retained in the urinary tract and not excreted in time. This causes the calcium content in the urine to continuously increase, and over time, it can form urinary tract stones.
Dinner and Nightmares A full dinner can cause the bloated stomach to press on surrounding organs, activating cells in corresponding parts of the brain and inducing various dreams. Nightmares often make people tired, and over time, can lead to neurasthenia and other diseases.
Dinner and Colon Cancer If most of the day's side dishes are eaten at dinner, these substances are acted upon by anaerobic bacteria in the large intestine, producing harmful substances. These toxic products increase the burden on the liver and kidneys and have a toxic stimulating effect on the brain. Coupled with reduced peristalsis during sleep, the time these substances stay in the intestinal cavity is relatively prolonged, which can easily lead to colon cancer.
Dinner and Coronary Heart Disease Consuming too many calories at dinner can cause an increase in blood cholesterol. Excess cholesterol is transported to the arterial wall and accumulates, becoming a major cause of inducing atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.
Dinner and Diabetes If middle-aged people regularly overeat for dinner, repeatedly stimulating the large secretion of insulin, they are prone to develop diabetes.
Dinner and Hypertension Eating too much meat at dinner not only increases the burden on the gastrointestinal tract but can also cause a sharp rise in blood pressure. When sleeping, blood flow slows down significantly, and a large amount of blood lipids will deposit on the arterial wall, causing atherosclerosis.