Eat your meals on time, keep away the imbalances

By Sheela Krishnaswamy

The hustle and bustle in today's lifestyle gives rise to unhealthy eating and irregular meal timings among other things.High-fat snacks like chips, chiwda, cookies, poori, vada and samosa available in the office cafeteria don't help much in terms of health. If you do not eat at regular intervals and keep your stomach empty for long periods of time while working, you're likely to endure

Hyperacidity

Low energy level

Irritability

Inability to concentrate

Decrease in blood glucose

Fatigue

Lower intake of micronutrients Does this mean that one must munch on food every two hours?
The answer is `not necessarily'.There is no clear consensus on whether a person should eat small meals multiple times, or if a person should eat only three meals a day . Having said this, the three major meals breakfast, lunch and dinner should be taken on a daily basis. A gap of approximately five hours between the major meals works well for most people.

If, however, you feel hungry in between the three major meals, a nutritious snack (examples ­ fresh fruit, egg sandwich, boiled corn, salad, soup, a handful of almonds, baked beans on toast, muesli with milk, etc) can be consumed. Sometimes a beverage like tea or juice or milk or lassi can keep you going till the next meal. Drinking adequate water is also important and doing so at regular intervals helps to keep the gut healthy .

If, for some reason, you are unable to eat a full meal when your body demands it, then bite into a few nuts or a fresh fruit or a few dry fruits. A banana can give you quick energy and other nutrients, as well as help you to carry on with your work till your next meal. Easy-to-carry snacks like chikki, nuts, puffed rice, roasted channa and muesli can stave off hunger for some time and also provide a few nutrients for the body . Stay away from oily items, fried snacks, carbonated beverages, salty and sugary foods.

Regular meal timings might have beneficial effects on blood sugar levels, lipid levels and calorie burn. Small frequent meals or three large spaced-out meals, the bottomline is that the nutrition quality of each meal should be high. There is no point in skipping meals or leaving large gaps between meals which might result in physical, physiological or mental discomfort.