Lunch Should be the Biggest Meal

As a rule, Americans tend to make dinner the biggest meal of the day, but experts are saying lunch should really be the largest meal we consume. Patrick Okolo III, chief gastroenterology for Rochester Regional Health, says it’s important to note the implications of eating our largest meal latest in the day from a digestive standpoint, as well as overall health perspective as we don’t metabolize food as well as night because of the normal, natural rhythm of the body. Having our largest meal at night can lead to sleep disturbances as well, including acid reflux and other long-term digestive problems. Researchers also note that the midday meal was once the heaviest, and the shift towards evening came due to how and where we work. As Americans started commuting greater distances to work it became impossible to follow the older established tradition of going home midday to eat a large meal for lunch—so this naturally shifted the big meal to the end of the day when everyone in a household was home. Okolo says since everyone has different schedules we should just make sure our larger meal is timed for our most active time of day.