Meal timing

Question
what time is best to drink a cup of milk and fruit juice
separately(besides during breakfast)? Is it better after my main meals of before?
what period of the day is best to consume most of my food(to increase
metabolism)? after what time should i not eat? What time should i take a
snack like cheese and biscuits/crackers? i have my 3 main meals at 8am,
12pm and 6pm

Answer
Hello,

I would like to have all the information you want but there seem to be no exact answers known to health and medical sciences. However,

let me tell you about general principles of meal timing and what they depend on.

1. Firs of all it depends on the way of eating you choose. If  you consume carbohydrate (and from you question, it looks like you do) you

should indeed have meals AND snacks in between them. The matter is, when carbohydrates are available, let's say, at breakfast, your body

starts running on glucose for fuel, releasing insulin to make it available to the tissues, and wanting more of glucose sources pretty

soon.

If, however, you make your body run on fat metabolites ketones, insulin is not that needed and before demanding more fat coming with

food, your body uses its own fat for fuel thus not demanding next meal soon. Your hunger remains but it's now healthier since your body

fat matters, too, but only until you have your juice, biscuits, or crackers. In case you do have one or them, the carbohydrate/insulin

circle begins again.

2. From the eating behavior standpoint, it's better to have a low-calorie-density food before a meal -- but milk or juice are not on

these foods list. Green salads, vegetable soups, and best of all water are low in calorie density, on the other hand, so why wouldn't you

have them instead.

3. If however you are on a serious strength training program and your muscles need to replenish glycogen timely you need a finely tuned meal timing. You might want to learn more to see why it all happens and here's suggested reading links:

Timing in Meal Planning
http://www.dietandbody.com/article1010.html

Meal frequency: eat 5-6 small meals per day
http://dietandbody.com/fat_loss/2006/09/burn-fat-how-to-repair-damaged.html

Just Minutes in the Morning?
http://www.dietandbody.com/morning_exercises.html

Nibbling Versus Gorging: Prolonged Carbohydrate Absorption
http://bestlowcarbs.com/article1071.html  

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