How Volume And Frequency Are The Two Most Important Factors When It Comes To Healthy Eating.
When we think of healthy eating, we normally think of more organic fresh fruits and vegetables on our plates. And while this is, indeed, a vital aspect of a healthy diet, how much and how often we eat are two equally important factors in developing healthy eating habits.
Dr. Thomas Lodi, integrative oncology and metabolic medicine expert, discusses why this is important in his latest video.
“Volume and frequency are in order of importance,” he explained. “Eating large amounts of food will stretch out your tight junctions and as a result, you will develop leaky gut and inflamed intestines.”
When we eat, our metabolic rate increases by 25 percent on average because digestion and absorption require energy and blood flow. A huge factor in this process is the quantity or size of our meal. A larger meal requires more energy, thus increasing metabolic rate more than smaller meals.
When we eat more than we should, our stomach expands to accommodate the excess food. This explains why we want (or need) to loosen our pants after a, particularly heavy meal.
Overeating can also trigger heartburn because the acid produced by our stomach to break down the food backs up into the esophagus. The more food we unnecessarily consume, the more acid is needed to break it down. Excess calories that are not used for energy or storage are also stored as fat.
Overeating causes our organs to work overtime—secreting enzymes and hormones. This can cause issues with our metabolic process as well as our endocrine function.
Healthy Eating Is Eating Once A Day!
It can also cause us to feel drowsy and tired. When food is digested, the pancreatic cells produce insulin, which then increases serotonin and melatonin. These hormones elicit the feeling of both happiness and drowsiness.
Overeating also causes the body to produce more leptin, which is responsible for telling the brain that we are no longer hungry. When this happens, we may become resistant to leptin, in which case the brain can no longer recognize when we are full. This, in turn, leads to ‘more overeating’ and eventually, to put on more weight.
Dr. Lodi recommends eating once a day at most. “The more amount of time you put in between meals, the healthier you will be. A great snack idea for anyone is ice cubes,” he said.
Some observed benefits of this include decreasing blood sugar levels, boosting memory, and improving the eating and sleeping cycles of people who are obese. He added, “As we age, what happens? Our kidneys don’t work as well, and we lose 10 percent of our nephrons every decade of life.”
Nephrons are the basic units of a structure in the kidney. Its job is to separate water, ions, and small molecules from the blood as well as filter out toxins and return the required molecules to the blood.
Dr. Lodi noted that, as we get older, our body’s ability to excrete toxins diminishes. If we combine this with a lack of proper sleep and unchecked eating habits, this can lead to serious health issues.
Got more questions? Check out Dr. Lodi’s video lecture series to learn more or book an online consultation.
