Dense activities from morning to evening, even at night, sometimes make us late to eat. In fact, one of the keys to a healthy lifestyle is eating on time, with the concept of 3 meals a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. We have to make it a habit to set our meal times such as breakfast around 05.00-09.00, lunch around 12.00-13.00 – and dinner between 18.00-20.00 (or two hours before going to bed). In addition to the meal times that have been mentioned, we also proceed to consume snack foods in the morning and evening. By eating on time, we can avoid various diseases such as heartburn, heart disease and obesity.

With a regular eating schedule, our concentration power is more honed, our body does not get tired easily and we will be more excited in undergoing activities. Eating on a regular schedule also makes our body have a better metabolism, so that weight can be more controlled. A study at Cambridge University in the Proceedings of the Nutrition Society shows that irregular eating behavior is associated with a high risk of metabolic syndrome, such as increasing the risk of obesity, unstable blood sugar levels and type 2 diabetes.

Adults who eat healthy breakfast regularly every morning are more likely to consume enough vitamins and minerals, control body weight, and eat less fat and cholesterol. While a healthy breakfast that is routinely done by children can help meet their daily nutritional needs, maintain a healthy weight, concentrate better, and make children less likely to be absent from school.

According to Professor of Food and Nutrition IPB Prof. Dr. Ir. Ali Khomsan, MS, the recommended breakfast is two hours after waking up, at the latest at 09.00. Breakfast above 09.00 is not recommended, because it can create a domino effect, which makes someone will be too full for lunch. Lunch that should be shifted, and will disrupt dinner time and ultimately ruin overall time. Dinner that is too late, for example at 20:00, the body does not want to receive food because it will rest. Our digestion also needs to rest, disrupted digestion of food will make the process of absorption of nutrients is not optimal.

The ideal distance of breakfast and lunch is 4 hours, so if we have breakfast at 09.00, then make sure at 13.00 we have lunch. As for dinner, make sure we stop eating 2 hours before going to bed so that food can be digested thoroughly so it does not rot in the stomach or small intestine. When eating adjacent to sleep also causes an increase in stomach acid to the esophagus (GERD) because during sleep, digestive activity will stop. Food that enters before going to sleep will automatically be retained in the stomach and increase the amount of stomach acid.

When we feel hungry between meals, we can fill it with healthy snacks. For example fruits, nuts, cereals, and can also consume Oatbits. Snack is also necessary because it can cover our nutritional deficiencies. However, do not let the snack portion exceeds the portion of our main meal, Oatlovers.

Sumber:

1. https://www.alodokter.com/manfaat-sarapan-yang-tidak-boleh-dilewatkan
2. https://holisticare.co.id/waktu-makan-yang-tepat-membuat-tubuh-sehat/
3. https://jambi.tribunnews.com/2019/02/20/panjang-umur-dimulai-dari-pola-makan-teratur-hindari-kebiasaan-ini-sebelum-terlambat
4. https://linisehat.com/menjaga-kesehatan-dengan-pola-makan-teratur/
5. https://southgate.id/elegance/inilah-manfaat-makan-teratur-dan-tepat-waktu/