Timely Eating ~ Eat your fill When it is the Right Time to Eat

Timely Eating Improves Digestion

Everyone has an internal clock and it is this internal clock that sets your body’s rhythm. It is important that you set an eating schedule so that your body can maintain this rhythm. Your body becomes accustom to an eating schedule and starts producing digestive enzymes in preparation for food.Your eating schedule should include both the times of day that you eat and the types of food groups that you eat. Eating odd foods or at odd times of day will disrupt your body’s rhythm. When your rhythms are disrupted, your digestion is disrupted and the result is digestive discomfort.You can train your body. When you consistently eat at certain times of the day your body becomes accustomed to digesting at those times and starts to pre-produce digestive enzymes in anticipation of the meal. This is its way of preparing for food. Your body is more ready to receive food and this helps complete the digestion process. In addition to setting times for meals, you should stick to the same types of food on a regular basis. This doesn’t mean eating the same exact food every day, just sticking to similar food groups as often as possible. You’ll want to set up a system where you have primary foods, secondary foods and exotic foods. Primary are those eaten every week, secondary are condiments to the primary, and exotic are those that you eat on rare occasions. When you eat this way, your body will not only know when to expect food, but it will also know what type of food to expect. This leads to a more complete digestion of your food and in turn you’ll feel more energized and vibrant.
Source retrieved from ~ http://www.puristat.com/bloating/food-combining.aspx

I couldn't agree more with the information above. From my own observations, we spend too much time thinking about what to eat than we do about when to eat. Your body does an eating rhythm, when you are hungry. At least that is how it starts out. Babies need to eat exactly when they are crying out in hunger. As they grow, parents introduce more time-space into their schedules. Parents learn too that keeping to that schedule results in a happy healthy child. As we grow and become adults, an eating schedule should be kept. This is in my opinion the key to good digestion and health. In some countries, this is quite strict, at least from my own experiences, the Swedes, the Italians and Poles like to eat on time, the time they set. When I lived abroad, I spent most of my time in Poland. There, I was introduced to a different eating schedule. Poles eat 4 times a day. For breakfast, there were usually open faced sandwiches served along with scrambled eggs, and boiled sausages with coffee or tea. Then a smaller second breakfast of fresh or jarred fruit, yogurt or cottage cheese and even another open faced sandwich (with a slice of tomato/cucumber) was consumed before noon. A three course dinner (soup, meat/potatoes/cake or fruit salad) was served between 3-5 pm and lastly, a late supper could be eaten as late as 8 pm consisting of open faced sandwich with just a slice of cheese on a piece of bread with tea. I got used to those 4 shared meals a day. I never snacked in between because I was not hungry between meals. Given that, I think that though Poles eat more fat, they eat less sugar and include in their meals fermented vegetables as well as sour cream, kefir and homemade cottage cheese. In sum, here, there, anywhere, eating on time and eating together with other people is so important to good digestion and all around well being. Growing up here, as I look back, my parents kept good meal times. I don't remember snacking having got my fill when it was time to eat. Getting you fill when it is time to eat is being brainy and also keeping in mind that when you sit down to a table with family or friends to eat a meal, you are consuming much more than food. Eating is social and there are benefits that come with eating with other people, you eat slower and you benefit by getting affirmation of who you are and who you belong to, group cohesiveness comes out of social interaction.  Identity is an important part of who you are and it is reflected in the food you share and eat. Who doesn't love to share recipes about their favorite dishes especially those we share as a group, a society, a nation.