What time interval should be between receptions. Optimal meal frequency: how many times a day to eat to stay healthy

The basic rule is to use antibiotics only when they cannot be dispensed with. Indications for the use of antibiotics are the appearance of signs of an acute bacterial infection, which the body cannot cope with on its own:

• Persistent and long-term temperature rise
• Purulent discharge
• Changes in blood composition - an increase in leukocytes (leukocytosis), a shift in the leukocyte formula to the left (an increase in stab and segmented leukocytes),
• After a period of improvement, repeated deterioration of the patient's condition.

It is known that antibiotics are powerless against viruses. Therefore, with influenza, ARVI, some acute intestinal infections, their use is meaningless and not safe (see whether to drink). What else does everyone need to know to take antibiotics correctly?

2 Rule: Write down all the information about the reception of antibiotics you have previously

When, what antibiotics, what course, for what diseases - write down. This is especially true for the use of drugs by children. When using antibiotics, it is important to pay attention to what side effects or manifestations of allergies were and to write them down. The doctor will not be able to adequately select an antibiotic for you, in the case when he does not have information - what, in what doses, you or your child took antibiotics before. It is also worth informing your doctor about other drugs that you are taking (constantly or right now).

3 Rule: Never beg your doctor for an antibiotic prescription

The doctor can prescribe antimicrobial agents for you without special indications, if you insist. The use of antibiotics significantly speeds up recovery, but this is not always justified. Moreover, do not ask the pharmacy "anything" stronger. Stronger does not mean more effective. Sometimes a pharmacy may offer to replace one drug with a similar one, in this case it is better to agree on such a replacement with a doctor or clarify the composition and active ingredient with the pharmacist, so as not to violate the dosage prescribed by the doctor.

4 Rule: Take a bacterial culture test to choose the "best" antibiotic

For some diseases, it is ideal when there is an opportunity to be tested for bacterial culture with the determination of antibiotic sensitivity. When there is laboratory data, the selection of an antibiotic is simplified, and in this case, the treatment is obtained with sniper accuracy. The disadvantage of this analysis is that it takes 2 to 7 days to wait for the result.

5 Rule: Strictly observe the time and frequency of admission

Always keep regular intervals between antibiotic doses. This is necessary to maintain a constant concentration of the drug in the blood. Many people mistakenly perceive information about the frequency of admission, if it is recommended to take it 3 times a day, this does not mean that the admission should be for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This means that the appointment is made after 8 hours. If 2 times a day, then exactly in 12 hours.

Rule 6: How many days to take antibiotics?

Usually 5-7 days are enough, sometimes the period of taking an antibiotic is 10-14 days. Powerful antibiotics of prolonged action, such as Azithromycin (Sumamed, Azitrox, Zi-factor, Azicid, Hemomycin, Ecomed) are taken once a day for 3 days or 5 days, in severe cases, the doctor may prescribe the following scheme: 3 days to drink, 3 days off - and so 3 receptions. The duration of the antibiotic intake is determined by the doctor.

7 Rule: Continuity of treatment

If a course of an antibiotic is started, in no case should the treatment be stopped as soon as you feel an improvement. It is worth continuing treatment 2-3 days after improvement, recovery. You should also monitor the effect of the antibiotic. If no improvement is observed within 72 hours, then the pathogen is resistant to this antibiotic and should be replaced.

Rule 8: Never try to adjust your antibiotic dosage

The use of drugs in small doses is very dangerous, as it increases the likelihood of resistant bacteria. Increasing the dose is also not safe, as it leads to overdose and side effects.

9 Rule: What to drink and when to drink an antibiotic?

Be sure to follow the instructions on how to take a particular drug correctly, as different antibiotics have different food intake dependencies:

• some - should be taken with meals
• others - drink one hour before meals or 1-2 hours after meals
• it is recommended to drink any medicine only with pure, non-carbonated water
• it is not recommended to drink antibiotics with milk and fermented milk products, as well as tea, coffee and juices (but there are exceptions, read the instructions carefully).

Rule 10: Take Probiotics

During treatment, it is worth taking drugs that restore the natural intestinal microflora (Linex, Narine, Gastrofarm, Primadophilus, Rela Life, Normoflorin, etc., all). Since antibacterial agents destroy beneficial bacteria in the body, it is necessary to take probiotics, consume fermented milk products (apart from taking antibiotics). It is better to take these drugs in between taking antimicrobial agents.

Rule 11: Follow a Special Diet for Antibiotic Treatment

It is worth giving up fatty foods, fried, smoked meats and canned foods, excluding alcohol and sour fruits. Taking antibiotics inhibits liver function, therefore, food should not overload the liver. Include more vegetables, sweet fruits, white bread in your diet.

There are radically different opinions about the correct diet. Someone is a zealous supporter of the usual three meals a day, someone is convinced that meals should be one-time. Others insist that you should not eat after six. What is the correct diet and how to follow it? In addition, it is also important to take into account and.

Number of meals per day

Intervals between meals

If a 4-6 one-time organization of the diet is adopted, then it is important to correctly observe the time intervals between each meal. There should be no more than four hours between each meal. What was eaten also plays an important role. For example, if the lunch was hearty and satisfying, then an interval of four hours would be ideal. And if there was only a light snack for lunch, then the interval until the next meal should be reduced to a maximum of two hours.

Nutritionists recommend calculating the diet in such a way that all servings are approximately the same calorie content. Then, over time, you can go to the same interval between meals - three or three and a half hours.
The intervals between meals with a three-time regimen should not exceed 5-6 hours.

Four meals a day assumes the following distribution of the daily ration. Breakfast should account for 25% of the total diet. For afternoon tea - 15%, for lunch - 35% and for dinner - 25%. If the diet is three times a day, then the share of breakfast should be 40%, lunch 35% and dinner 30%.

Product distribution

Breakfast

Nutritionists agree that a person can afford whatever he wants for breakfast. It is best to consume the daily allowance of fat in the morning. If a person loves sweets very much, then it is better to absorb it in the morning.

Dinner

Since childhood, parents have been telling us about the need to thoroughly chew food. But as we grow up, we stop monitoring the nutrition process, rushing on urgent matters. But well-chewed food is processed with saliva, and the process of splitting food begins in the mouth. After all, saliva in its composition contains many enzymes that accelerate the process of assimilation of products. And swallowed large pieces remain in the stomach for a long time, which causes a feeling of heaviness, discomfort. Especially if, to speed up the absorption of food, it is washed down with water or tea. It is absolutely impossible to do this, because the water soaks the pieces of food, which contributes to their rapid swallowing. Water should be taken half an hour before meals, and tea should be drunk twenty to thirty minutes after the end of the meal. It is not for nothing that doctors believe that one meal should be allocated from twenty to thirty minutes of time.

Nutrition culture

Many limit themselves to a cup of coffee with breakfast, claiming a lack of appetite. Lunch at work comes down to a tea sandwich. But for dinner, the average hungry person is ready to eat soup, and a fried cutlet or chop. And washed down with sweet tea, sit in an armchair in front of the TV. But adherence to a proper diet is incompatible with such eating behavior. The distribution of the amount of consumed calories should approximately correspond to the following ratios:

• – 30-35%;
• lunch - 25-30%;
• afternoon tea - 15%;
• dinner - 25%.

After all, it is a hearty dinner that leads to the fact that you do not want to eat at breakfast. It is necessary to gradually reduce the calorie content and density of the dinner, increasing the volume of the breakfast. For breakfast, you need to eat meals from complex carbohydrates. It can be buckwheat porridge, rice, oatmeal with honey, a piece of cheese with grain bread and juice.

Proper nutrition is impossible without counting the calories consumed. After all, the amount of energy required is different for children, the elderly and working adults. At the same time, much depends on the type of activity. An office worker has less energy consumption than a miner, steelmaker or loader. Therefore, their food should have a different calorie content. This does not mean that every day you have to count the calories in every bite you eat. It is enough to make a menu for a week with an approximate calculation of calories. Over time, this procedure will become automatic, because you will remember the calorie content of your staple foods.

Selection and preparation of products

The selection of a nutritional program is unthinkable without the choice of products according to the ratio of carbohydrates, proteins, fats in them. Complex carbohydrates such as cereals, bread, potatoes are recommended for breakfast. The source of animal proteins is meat, fish, and vegetable proteins - legumes, nuts, soybeans, seeds. Avoid eating fatty meats that contain cholesterol.

Menu for the week

And in conclusion, let us once again draw attention to the need to give up sweet and flour products, especially purchased ones, from eating pies and other fast food on the run.

Different systems and nutrition programs may offer two, three, and four meals a day.

A little about a balanced diet

In this case, we will consider a balanced diet, which is based on the principles of balance and the theory of calories.

The word "rational" in translation from Latin means science, reason, there are also meanings such as accounting, counting, counting. Rational nutrition is scientifically grounded, accurately calculated supply of food to a person, enhances the body's resistance to the effects of toxic substances and infections.

The principles on which rational nutrition is based:

1. The timeliness of the intake of substances into the human body that are needed to compensate. To control the replenishment of energy, knowledge of the level of energy consumption and the energy value of the diet is required.
2. High-quality usefulness of products when the main food ingredients -, and - enter the body in sufficient quantities.
3. The optimal ratio of basic nutrients - the above.

Four times a day due to the timely intake of vital substances into the body.

Disadvantages of two meals a day with a long interval between meals (up to 7 hours or more)

Rare meals cause an increase in blood levels, contribute to the accumulation of fat deposits in the body, and a decrease in the active work of the thyroid gland and tissue enzymes.

In most cases, a person immediately eats a large amount of food, as a result, the stomach overflows, stretches its walls, restricts mobility, and, therefore, worsens mixing the contents and processing it with juices, the process of evacuating food from the stomach is slow.

Stretching an organ can adversely affect heart function. A crowded stomach raises the diaphragm, complicating cardiac activity.

In the first hours of digestion, a large food load inhibits the work of the gastric glands, reduces the secretion of juice and lengthens the period of digestion. Chronic overeating leads to obesity.

In addition, eating a large amount of food can provoke a strong contraction of the muscles of the biliary tract and significant pain in this area.

In addition, due to the fact that an excess amount of blood fills the internal organs, the functional state of the blood of the brain becomes worse. Therefore, efficiency decreases, weakness and drowsiness appear.

Also, rare meals, when the breaks between them reach 8-10 hours, impair the rhythmic activity of the intestines, leading to constipation.

Correct Diet: Intervals Between Meals

The length of the intervals is determined by the length of time that is sufficient for the digestion, absorption and assimilation of nutrients.

Long breaks in food can provoke:

The intensity of the synthesis of digestive juices significantly decreases in the first hours after a meal, by the 2nd hour it is restored, by the 4th hour it becomes maximum. For this reason, it is not advisable to eat earlier than two hours after the previous meal.

During short intervals, there is not enough time for the complete digestion process and absorption of nutrients before the next meal. This can cause disorders of the motor and secretory work of the alimentary canal.

In addition, the following factor is important. A healthy stomach is a muscle sac that can stretch and contract. However, he lacks the ability to grab food, turn it over and juice it if there is no certain volume of it. Therefore, the statement "there is more often and a little" in the absence of pathologies of the digestive tract is not true.

The most optimal intervals between meals for an adult healthy person there are four to six hour intervals. In addition, the digestive glands need rest for 6 to 10 hours a day, when the ability of the digestive organs to work normally the next day is restored.

Temperature regime of food

In order for the digestion process to be carried out properly, the temperature of the food is important. The temperature of hot food should not be higher than 50 - 60 degrees, cold food - not lower than 10 degrees.

Regularity and irregularities in eating habits

Regularity of meals at the same time is extremely important. A conditioned reflex of appetite arousal to the time factor is formed. By a certain time, a feeling of hunger arises, which excites the food center and triggers the reflex secretion of gastric juice. Clear, organized, correct diet is most beneficial for digestion and absorption. In most cases, two to three days is a sufficient period for the body to adapt to diet... In some situations, it is difficult to strictly follow the regimen; some deviations from the usual hours of eating are possible - optimal - within 30 minutes.

In case of violations diet the conditioned reflex begins to fade away. Food enters the stomach, which is not prepared for digestion. This affects the food center - appetite decreases and food mass is poorly absorbed. Irregular and irregular eating distorts the physiological rhythms of the digestive glands, reduces digestibility and, in some cases, provokes the development of diseases - gastritis, cholecystitis, etc.

If the choice is made in favor of this or that human diet, it is necessary to strictly observe it, since abrupt changes in nutrition, food stresses are not indifferent to the body.

Food taken by the stomach is digested in 4 - 5 hours. All this time, the digestive glands are working, and after the end of the digestion process, another hour is needed so that they have a rest and can again produce the necessary amount of digestive juice containing mucus, enzymes, a little hydrochloric acid, for the subsequent digestion of food.

We have a simple equation: 4 - 5 hours + 1 hour = 5 - 6 hours. This is the required interval between meals. If after the main meal we want to have a snack (seeds, cookies, etc.), what happens in the body?

A new portion of food enters the stomach at a time when the previous portion has not yet been processed. In this case, the digestion of the first portion is suspended. The stomach, not having time to digest the previous portion, is not ready to accept a new burden, because it does not yet have enough energy to process new food. Due to the long presence of food in the stomach, its fermentation begins, as a result the blood “clogs up”, which is carried throughout the body to our cells. Mental activity is inhibited, mood worsens, irritation and anger appear (especially in children).

When snacking occurs over and over again, the digestive organs weaken, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) appear, the whole body is overstrained. Decreases susceptibility to infections that provoke inflammatory processes up to peptic ulcer disease. A clogging of the gastrointestinal tract occurs, and a person begins to resort to exhausting, expensive and unsafe cleaning, often leaving himself in the hands of not very literate people, or using dubious literature.
Studies have shown that taking one serving of ice cream between meals slows down the digestion process by 3 hours, one banana by 5 hours.

Think about it: staple meals and snacks are an ongoing digestive tract! Let's remember the story. During their period of rise, the Greeks and Romans generally ate once a day. Dr. Oswald writes, "For over a thousand years, one meal a day has been the rule in two countries that have been able to mobilize armies of men who marched for days on end with a load of iron ammunition, not counting clothing and provisions that would have knocked over a modern porter." And he also writes: "Among the factors that have been put forward to explain their physical, mental and moral decline was a sensual obsession with food that came with power and wealth."

Although healthier meals should include two or three meals a day, the above conclusion gives us the right to wonder how much the frequency of eating affects the person as a whole.

Diana Kirovich,
St. Petersburg, Master of Public Health

For many people, their diet is governed by appetite. What is appetite and how to relate to it?

The question often arises: how to suppress appetite? It has been shown that fractional nutrition (5-6 times a day) suppresses the excitation of the food center. In this case, sometimes one apple or a glass of kefir is enough. In order not to stimulate the appetite, one should not eat spicy and salty foods and alcoholic beverages must be completely excluded. Alcohol not only poisons the body, but also has a powerful, appetite-stimulating effect.

So, increased appetite can be harmful to health, but its complete absence is also undesirable. This often suffers from small children, whom loving mothers and compassionate grandmothers endlessly stuff with something "tasty". As a result, the child loses his appetite, and the frightened parents, instead of realizing it, try to feed him continuously.

Eating with an appetite is always a pleasure. It takes time to develop appetite. Eating breaks are essential. In childhood, they should be shorter than in adulthood.

What should be these breaks? How much and what should you eat during a given meal? In other words, what should be the diet of a healthy adult.

The diet is based on four basic principles.

• Regularity of food
• Food fractionality during the day
• Rational set of products
• Physiological distribution of the amount of food by its meals during the day

Meal times

The main criterion that determines this time is the feeling of hunger. It can be identified by the following sign: at the thought of unattractive food (for example, the image of a piece of stale black bread) saliva appears, at such a moment the tongue mostly needs food, not the stomach.

You can confuse the feeling of hunger with the following conditions: the stomach "sucks", "sucks" in the stomach, cramps occur. All this indicates the unloading of the organ after overflow, the needs of the stomach and the food center of appetite (a number of brain structures that coordinate the choice, consumption of food and the initial stages of digestive processing).

It is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of hunger and appetite when organizing the correct diet. Hunger indicates the need for energy, appetite indicates the need for pleasure. Hunger should be the right impulse for food, since the deceitfulness of appetite leads to excess weight.

Number of meals

The multiplicity of food or the number of meals affects the metabolism in the body. Factors to consider when determining the frequency of meals:

• age;
• labor activity (mental, physical labor);
• the state of the human body;
• work schedule.

Benefits of multiple meals (four meals a day):

Sample meal schedule

An approximate meal schedule might look like this:

• 7:00 - First breakfast.
• 10:00 - Second breakfast.
• 13:00 - Lunch.
• 16:00 - Afternoon snack.
• 19:00 - Dinner.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast should be rich in proteins, you can include in it, for example, eggs, cottage cheese or other dairy products, turkey sausages. If you can't go without carbs, include fresh fruit or some muesli in your breakfast menu.

Lunch should be light and low in carbohydrates. If you are not yet very hungry at this time, still try not to skip your second breakfast, but limit yourself to a glass of kefir or juice or some kind of fruit.

Dinner should be balanced and include a source of protein (meat, fish or poultry) and some healthy carbohydrates, preferably in the form of vegetables or grains. Some healthy fats from olive oil, nuts, or avocados will also help.

Afternoon snack may include carbohydrates, preferably only in the form of some kind of fruit, porridge or, at worst, a whole grain bun.

Dinner like lunch, it should be complete and well balanced. After supper comes the so-called "Danger Zone". Eating at this time is caused only by psychological, not physiological hunger. Only the desire to cheer yourself up can lead you to the refrigerator. If you intend to lose weight, never eat in the "Danger Zone".

Biorhythm is the secret of a proper nutrition schedule

The secret to a good meal plan is understanding how your body's internal clock is set. what are your biorhythms. Each person has its own certain pace of life and the readiness of the body to eat is directly related to the hour at which a person usually wakes up when he starts active activity, when he rests and, finally, when he prepares for sleep. If you are used to waking up no earlier than 11 a.m., then you are unlikely to feel the desire to have breakfast at 11:30. However, by lunchtime your appetite will probably be quite good, and by dinner you will definitely arrive on time. Those who love to meet the sunrise with a rise, on the contrary, have a great appetite from the very morning, but they can completely forget about dinner.

Start your day with a protein meal. Breakfast should be rich in protein. This will help you get enough energy and be sure to delay hunger until your next meal. It is believed that it is best to have breakfast no earlier than 8 am and within 1 hour from waking up. If you wake up much earlier than eight in the morning, then drink a glass of water, do exercises, take a contrast shower in order to postpone breakfast closer to the specified time.

Eat at the same time every 3-4 hours. This will help control your appetite. To organize such a fractional meal, you can distribute in time the intake of the set of dishes that you usually eat for lunch, for example. First - the salad and the first course, after 3 hours, snack on the second course. Drink plenty of water during snacks. Water removes toxins from the body.

Lunch at lunchtime is an important part of your meal schedule. It is at lunchtime that you can afford the largest amount of food, because the average daily peak of gastric acidity is observed in the middle of the day. Lunch should be served before 3 pm.

Dinner no later than 8 p.m. Eating after 8 p.m. overloads normal pancreatic function and blocks the release of melatonin, which is essential for sound, healthy sleep.

Calorie breakdown throughout the day

Preparation for a new day for the body should begin with a certain amount of energy. To work properly, a person needs calories. That is why the most useful and optimal diet will be one in which our body receives a little more than 70% of the total consumed calories for breakfast and lunch. And for dinner and intermediate snacks, less than 30% of the total remains. With such a food schedule, a person gets enough strength for his activities, without putting off excess fat during a plentiful evening meal.

An interval of 4-5 hours between meals will be the most optimal and physiological. And the time from the last meal to sleep should be at least three to four hours. Such a diet is able to replenish the energy costs of our life, and control appetite, without loading the human system with extra calories.

Compliance with these principles of optimal diet and rational intake of food, as well as the previous rules of healthy eating will not only save your weight from extra pounds, but also keep it from unnecessary stomach problems and heart disease.