Can you tell why we only eat three meals a day?

"It's important to have breakfast, lunch and dinner at regular times." "You shouldn't be eating between meals because it takes away your appetite." "No meal should be skipped, otherwise it will harm your health."

Everyone has heard similar phrases at least once in their lives, and most people try to follow these concepts to the letter. However, according to various experts, we should be fasting or eating more often a day. Confused, no? Calm down, we already explained.

It's the fault of the Europeans

Historically, the habit of eating three times a day arose in medieval Europe. Farmers woke up early, ate cold porridge, and went to cultivate the fields. When the sun was at its zenith, it was time to rest, eat a more substantial meal to regain strength, and prepare for the rest of the workday. When they got home, they had another meal like this one in the morning, so it was time to go to bed and start over the next morning.

Arriving in America during the Great Navigations, European settlers also brought these eating habits with them. In establishing contact with the natives, they realized that the frequency with which they ate varied with the seasons of the year. In winter, for example, it was common for members of indigenous tribes in North America to fast due to food shortages.

The "discoverers" took this as further evidence that the Indians were not civilized, after all who in their right mind would starve voluntarily? A person should have times to eat or would not be much different from an animal. Europeans found the natives' eating habits so intriguing that they even stopped to watch them eat as a form of entertainment.

From the Industrial Revolution to the morning cereal

As urban centers began to develop and the man began to leave the countryside, the source of income for many was working in factories in the city center while living in the suburbs. This means that it was no longer possible to return home for lunch, so it was necessary to increase breakfast more, eat something simple in the afternoon and make dinner the heaviest meal of the day.

The amount of food, however, remained unchanged from the time man lived on cultivation. The more sedentary life of the city did not make people shrink the size of their meals compared to what was eaten at the time of the busy country life. Doctors, concerned about the exponential increase in cases of indigestion, came to recommend that people take lighter breakfast.

This is where the perfect opportunity arises for brothers Will Keith and John Harvey Kellogg. In 1897 they presented to the world their morning cereals as an alternative to the heavy meals eaten in the morning. Although not so successful here, in the US cereals are a very strong industry.

The most important meal

Taking advantage of the popularization that people should consume healthier things in the morning, fruit-producing associations began to promote the idea that no longer lunch, but breakfast was the most important meal of the day, and so, should also be the healthiest.

As a result, natural food sales exploded, especially as scientists began to discover the importance of vitamins for our health. Who out there has never seen an American movie of someone drinking orange juice or toasting fruit on a toast before going to school or work?

So far, so beautiful, so cool. But after all, is it really essential that we have three meals at all times? For many researchers on the subject, the answer is no. In fact, fasting may be more beneficial to your health than eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, as long as it is done correctly.

What science says

A study by the University of Bath, UK, found that people who skip coffee have the same average daily calorie burn rate as someone who regularly eats breakfast.

Yes, those who eat in the morning eat more calories, but metabolism makes an extra effort to process this extra calorie gain and then stabilizes at about the same rate as an individual who eats nothing upon waking.

Similar research at the University of Alabama, USA, showed that dieters who eat breakfast lose weight just as much as those who do not. That is, this meal has virtually no impact on our body, metabolically.

Two, three, five or six?

In fact, the problem is not just in the morning meal, but in all of them. A study published in 2010 in the British Journal of Nutrition compared two groups: one eating three meals a day and one eating six, the total calorie on both sides being the same. The researchers found no hormonal or weight gain differences between participants.

In 2014, scientists at the University of Warwick in England also found nothing that differentiated the metabolism of a group of women who ate twice a day from a group who ate five times a day. This means that the quantity of meals is not as important as the quality.

One thing that may actually cause some kind of change in the way metabolism acts is the practice considered uncivilized by European colonizers: periodic fasting.

How about fasting to live longer?

Neuroscientist Mark Mattson of the National Institute on Aging in the United States has observed over the past 20 years several experiments on laboratory mice that have shown that skipping specimens are slimmer. and live longer than frequently fed, and have more robust brain cells.

According to Mattson, himself a fan of intermittent fasts, calorie deprivation causes cells to increase their defenses, as if they become more alert. This makes them more resistant to other agents such as cell aging itself, environmental toxins and similar threats. Related research has shown that fasting can even help prevent heart disease.

In 2012, another rat study found that those who consumed all the daily calories within eight hours were less likely to develop metabolism-related diseases such as diabetes. A follow-up last year confirmed the result.

Eat or not eat? that is the question

After all, is it right to eat less, eat more, fast or not? It is really up to you to find out, because each person's metabolism works in one way. Some have a healthier life by eating three times a day, while others feel better if they eat in small portions several times, and some even prefer to skip meals. It goes from each one.

The key may be to stop eating when the clock says it is time and instead to eat when you are hungry, when your body tells you it needs to be replenished. The social conventions of breakfast, lunch, and dinner were imposed on us, but no one has ever taught this to our body, so why fight anyone who just wants to keep us alive and healthy?