For years it has been repeated that the best way to protect health is to distribute meals across five daily servings. However, more and more specialists question this recommendation when it becomes a constant snacking pattern that prevents the body from resting between bites. One of them is the integrative nutritionist Sandra Miñino, who argues that “the idea of having to eat five times a day is a myth; the best thing for your digestion is to eat as few times as possible.”
Her approach is not about eating less in quantity, but about reducing the frequency of meals to allow the digestive system to complete its work before receiving more food. She explains that many people think they are following a healthy diet because they choose fruit, nuts, or yogurt between meals, but the problem isn’t the food itself; it’s keeping the body in a nearly continuous state of digestion.
The Problem of Snacking Throughout the Day
Sandra Miñino offers the example of people who have breakfast, then in mid-morning eat blueberries, later a handful of nuts, later a coffee with some food, and continue like this until dinner. Although all of these items can be healthy, the body barely has time to complete the digestive processes.
The nutritionist explains that each time we eat, the body initiates a complex metabolic task involving the stomach, the intestine, the liver, and the pancreas. If these digestions occur in rapid succession, other physiological processes are sidelined. Therefore, she recommends leaving four to five hours between one meal and the next. During that interval, it is permissible to consume calorie-free drinks, such as water, herbal infusions, or coffee, as long as they are not accompanied by foods that reactivate digestion.
The Importance of Making Meals Truly Satisfying
To make those intervals between meals more manageable, Sandra Miñino insists that the main meals be complete and satisfying. In other words, they should provide high-quality proteins, healthy fats, fiber, and nutrient-rich carbohydrates when needed.
In this way, the sense of hunger a few hours after eating is reduced, and the need to constantly reach for snacks disappears. The specialist believes that many people do not eat too much; they simply eat too often throughout the day.
Moreover, she reminds us that digestive rest is also important during the night. Therefore, she advises that if dinner ends around nine o’clock in the evening, breakfast should not take place until about nine in the morning the next day. That roughly twelve-hour interval constitutes a physiological overnight fast that allows the body to complete various metabolic processes while we sleep.
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James Whitaker
I’m James Whitaker, a UK-based journalist focused on emerging trends and everyday stories gaining attention across the country. I cover the topics people start talking about before they fully break into the mainstream. My work aims to stay clear, factual, and closely connected to how news is actually consumed today.