Food and Digestion Myths

Myth 5 : Three meals a day is best

Reality : Believe it or not, the body knows better about when to eat and when not to eat. However, beware of hunger, specific for an addictive substance, e.g. if you are 'hungry' but only for sugar containing foods, you are not really hungry but in a state of addictive craving. Eat only when you are genuinely hungry. 

Myth 6 : If the food is natural, it is fine to eat all you want.

Reality : Almost any food eaten in disproportionate quantity is unhealthy. A person addicted to eating large quantity of food has a stretched stomach. Therefore, moderation is an important technique for healthy eating. If moderation in quantity is followed for a few weeks, the stomach shrinks to its natural size. So eat natural and unprocessed foods in great variety, but not in great quantity. 

Myth 7 : The best way to lose weight is to diet

Reality : Millions of tons of fat are being lost by this method and millions more tons of fat are being regained, by people who previously lost weight in crash diet programmes. Dieting does nothing for the basic problems, which are : (1) poor quality food, (2) addiction to certain foods, and (3) bad eating habits. Studies show that of those people who go on crash diets, more than 95 per cent gain the weight back plus additional weight. So instead of going on a crash diet, change your eating habits. 

Myth 8 : Always eat all the food in the plate .

Reality : Overeating is the root cause of obesity, which is responsible for a number of deadly diseases. It is useful to stop eating for five minutes in the middle of your meal and then ask yourself, ' Am I still hungry?' If the answer is 'No,' then stop eating and store or discard the rest of the food. Stop eating when satisfied, even if it means leaving food in the plate. 

Myth 9 : Snacking between meals is fine if the food is healthy.

Reality : Many people 'graze', i.e. they eat small portions many time through the day. Digestion of food is a major task for your stomach and small intestine. The first step in digestion is the addition of ptyalin by the salivary glands of the mouth. This begins the digestion of starch. The next step is acidification of the food in the stomach. This breaks down proteins and readies it for further digestion in the small intestine. Food spends about two hours in the stomach undergoing acidic breakdown. After this, it is moved into the small intestine. The stomach is ready for more food, at the earliest, two hours after the last meal. If additional food is eaten within two hours of the last food consumed, the new food mixes with the old, and either the old meal stays in the stomach too long, or the new meal is dumped into the small intestine too early. In the first case, the food is over acidified and loses a lot of its nutritional value. In the second case, the second meal is incompletely digested, because it misses part of the acidification step. Therefore, let at least three hours pass between meals. 

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