When You Eat Is Just as Important as What You Eat

Most health experts talk about what you eat, but not many consider when you should eat. Research is beginning to show that when you eat is just as important as what you eat, but some people have known this for a long time. Ayurveda, traditional Indian medicine, has long espoused the importance of the timing of your meals and the intervals between them, and intermittent fasting is becoming increasingly popular.

Let’s look at the importance of timing in your eating habits: 

It Regulates Our Body Cycles

By eating at similar times each day, and getting the right nutrients at the right times, we can help regulate our body cycles. It allows you to take control of the things that are actually in your control and maintain regular and consistent bodily cycles, including digestion and elimination. 

By doing so you will find your energy needs are more likely to be met on a consistent basis. Visit Energetic Lifestyle for more tips on healthy living and energy regulation.

Helps Detoxify the Body

Detoxification is mostly done by the liver. When you eat, many processes are forced to take place in the body – all of which require a lot of energetic input. Digestion starts in the mouth with chewing and the secretion of digestive enzymes, moving through the gastrointestinal tract.

If your body is constantly digesting food, there will be less energy available to designate to the detoxification process, which can lead to many problems, including increased likelihood of disease and decreased energy.

Helps Regulate Energy Levels

Ayurveda advises syncing your eating times with the “movement” of the sun, as your digestive capacity is said to be correlated to the relative position of the sun. 

According to this, you should eat your main meal around midday when the sun is highest, as this is when your digestive capacity is strongest and your body will be most capable of processing your food. Eating when the sun is yet to rise or has already set should be avoided, as your body will be less capable of digesting efficiently. This can lead to sluggishness, energetic lulls and disease.

Disease, in Ayurveda, comes from ama, undigested food, and is the antithesis of agni, our digestive fire – which in many respects is the marker of our health.

Maintain 3 to 4 Hours Between Meals

Your body takes between 3 to 4 hours on average to properly digest your food. You should ensure that you don’t eat until your previous meal has been properly digested and assimilated. Failure to do so could lead to unpleasant digestive issues. 

Keeps Your Metabolism Healthy

Eating at regular times helps keep your metabolism functioning well, allowing you to keep a desirable metabolic rate. As the day passes, your metabolic rate slows down, so heavy meals in the evenings should be avoided. Aim to eat your dinner at least 2 hours before you go to sleep, to allow yourself time to digest well and get proper rest.

The Bottom Line

The timing of when you eat is just as important as what you eat. Tuning in to the wisdom of the natural cycles will show unparalleled results as it will allow your body to better assimilate and eliminate what you ingest.

Restricting your eating times will allow your system to detoxify more efficiently. You will likely see improvement in your energy levels and quality of your sleep if you stop eating late at night or at least 2 hours before sleeping.