Avoid Nibbling and Sipping

Whether a human being is thin or fat it is very unhealthy to have a habit of frequently eating or drinking some beverage. The only one thing that is harmless to put into your mouth throughout the day is water, plain unadulterated water (unless for some medical treatment a doctor advices restriction).

There are people who keep sipping barley water, buttermilk, tender coconut water, juices, coffee, tea, etc., People who start nibbling food from early morning when they prepare and pack tiffin and lunch boxes. Men who come home from office and nibble from 6pm to mid night. Women who taste every thing they feed their babies, starting from cereal mix to mashed banana, kichidi, etc. and also finish all their babies left over meals as well as what is left over in the tiffin box when the child comes home from school.

Just like your brain and body need their time to rest and recover from work your stomach and intestines also need their rest and break. In the old days, up to maybe 1960’s, the recommend pattern was to feed babies, whether by breast feeding or bottle feeding, by the clock. During the 70’s and thereafter came the controversy and theory that it is better to demand feed babies as and when the child wishes.

The new theory could pave the way for the development of the nibbling habit and with today’s availability of very dangerous and very fatty foods to nibble it would be advisable to stick to a proper timed schedule of feeding from birth.

The ideal is to ensure that there is a minimum gap of at least 2-3 hours between each time you put food in your mouth and even between every cup of coffee and tea your keep sipping. Don’t have half a cup of tea at 10am, 11am and 12 noon. If you have breakfast at around 8 am then you could have a cup of tea or coffee between 10am and 11am or you may eat a fruit and or have a glass of buttermilk and then nothing till lunch.

School children, women and men should all eat a good, properly balanced lunch consisting of carbohydrate and protein foods like chapatti/ bread/ rice with dhal/egg/chicken and vegetables between 12 pm to 2pm and then nothing till 3.30 or 4pm. This is tea time and not lunch time. At tea time you may have coffee/tea/milk with biscuits or toast.

Those who do not eat a proper lunch will definitely feel very hungry by 5 or 6 pm and they usually keep nibbling on fatty snacks from 5pm right up to dinner time. Finally they may not eat a carbohydrate, protein balanced dinner as they are too full of fatty foods and this is a very unhealthy and harmful practice.

Also those who drink ready juices throughout the day may not realize that they have drunk 500-700ml of juice out of a carton which could add up to 300-400 extra calories. You may leave a bowl of grapes on your dining table and pop a few into your mouth throughout the day and end up actually finishing 500gms of grapes totally. Another person may be popping nuts into their mouth or puffed rice o some baked snacks thinking all these are healthy options. Please note they all contain plenty of extra calories when added together and finally its extra kilos on the scale and extra sugar or fat in your blood.

The ideal is

• 3 Carbohydrate, protein balanced meals
• 3 Snack breaks of 11am fruit, 4pm coffee/ tea or milk with 2 biscuit or 1 toast and 6pm Fruit
• 2-3 liters of plain water.