WHEN TO EAT.
Three meals a day is the common plan. This is a matter of habit. Three
meals a day are sufficient and should not be exceeded by man, woman or
child. Lunching or "piecing" should never be indulged in. Children who
are fed on plain, nutritious foods that contain the necessary food
elements do not need lunches. Lunching is also a matter of habit, and we
can safely say that it is a bad habit.
If three meals a day are taken, two should be light. He who wishes to
work efficiently can not eat three hearty meals a day. If it is brain
work, the digestive organs will take so much of the blood supply that an
insufficient amount of blood will be left to nourish the brain. The
worker feels the lack of energy. He is not inclined to do thorough work,
that is, to go to the root of matters, and he therefore does indifferent
work. One rule to which there is no exception is that the brain can not
do its best when the digestive organs are working hard. If there is a
piece of work to be done or a problem to be solved that requires all of
one's powers it is best to tackle it with an empty stomach, or after a
very light meal.
If the work is physical, it is not necessary to draw the line so fine.
But it is well to remember that hard physical work prevents digestion.
All experiments prove this. So if the labor is very trying, the eating
should be light. Those who eat much because they work hard will soon
wear themselves out, for hard work retards digestion, and with weakened
digestion the more that is eaten, the less nourishment is extracted from
it. Those who labor hard should take a light breakfast and the same kind
of a noon meal. After the day's work is done, take a hearty meal. Those
who perform hard physical labor, as well as those who work chiefly with
their brains, should relax a while after the noon meal. A nap lasting
ten to twenty minutes is very beneficial, but not necessary if
relaxation is taken.
During sleep the activities of the body slow down. Most people who take
a heavy meal and retire immediately thereafter feel uncomfortable when
they wake in the morning. The reason is that the food did not digest
well. It is always well to remain up at least two hours after eating a
hearty meal.
Most people would be better off if they took but two meals a day. Those
who have sedentary occupations need less fuel than manual laborers, and
could get along very well on two meals a day. However, if moderation is
practiced, no harm will come from eating three times a day.
In olden times many people lived on one meal a day. Some do so today and
get along very well. It is easy to get plenty of nourishment from one
meal, and it has the advantage of not taking so much time. Most of us
spend too much time preparing for meals and eating. Once when it was
rather inconvenient to get more meals, I lived for ten months on one
meal a day. I enjoyed my food very much and was well nourished. For
twelve years I have lived on two meals a day, one of them often
consisting of nothing but some juicy fruit. Many others do likewise, not
because they are prejudiced against three meals per day, but they find
the two meal plan more convenient and very satisfactory.
Meat, potatoes and bread, with other foods, three times a day is a
common combination. No ordinary mortal can live in health on such a
diet. Such feeding results in discomfort and disease, and unless it is
changed, in premature aging and death. The body needs only a certain
amount of material. Sufficient can be taken in two meals. If three meals
is the custom less food at a meal should be eaten. However, the general
rule is that those who eat three meals per day eat fully as large ones
as those who take only two.
As a rule, the meal times should be regular. We need a certain amount of
nourishment, and it is well to take it regularly. This reduces friction,
and is conducive to health, for the body is easily taught to fall into
habits of regularity and works best when these are observed.
There should be a period of at least four and one-half to five hours
between meals. It takes that long for the body to get a meal out of the
way. Stomach digestion is but the beginning of the process, and this
alone requires from two to five hours.
On the two-meal plan it makes very little difference whether the
breakfast or the lunch is omitted. After going without breakfast for a
week or two, one does not miss it. Miss the meal that it is the most
troublesome to get. Dr. Dewey revived interest in the no-breakfast plan
in this country. He considered it very beneficial. The doctor did not
give credit where credit is due, for he insisted on going without
breakfast. Omitting lunch or dinner accomplishes the same thing. He got
his beneficial results from reducing the number of meals, and
consequently the amount of food taken, but it is immaterial which meal
is omitted.
Heavy breakfasts are very common in England and in our country. On the
European continent they do not eat so much for breakfast, a cup of
coffee and one roll being a favorite morning meal there. To eat nothing
in the morning is better than to take coffee and rolls. To eat enough to
steal one's brain away is a poor way to begin the day. Much better work
could be done on some fruit or a glass of milk, or some cereal and
butter than on eggs, steak potatoes, hot bread and coffee, which is not
an uncommon breakfast.
When we consider the best time to eat, we come back to our old friend,
moderation, and find that it is the best solution of the question, for
if the meals are moderate we may with benefit take three meals a day,
but no more, for there is not time enough during the day to digest more
than three meals. However, it is not necessary to eat three times a day.