When eating a large meal, especially a lot of refined starch or sugar, blood sugar spikes, the body produces a large amount of insulin to lower blood sugar.
Then blood sugar drops quickly, causing hunger and fatigue. Repeat process causes the pancreas to overload, long-term reducing insulin sensitivity.
Research published in Nutrients (2023) shows that a diet divided into 5-6 meals/day with a reasonable amount of starch helps reduce peak glucose levels after eating by 16% compared to a 2-3 large meal diet.
Eating a full breakfast, then dividing it into small snacks every 3-4 hours helps maintain stable blood sugar and reduce the risk of hypoglycemia in people with diabetes.
Specific benefits for blood sugar and overall health:
Stabilize energy throughout the day
Eating many small meals helps provide continuous energy, avoiding hunger and drinking or sudden hypoglycemia.
Reducing the burden on the pancreas
When blood sugar rises slowly and steadily, the pancreas does not have to secrete insulin en masse.
Maintaining stable blood sugar helps improve insulin sensitivity by up to 20% for 12 weeks.
Support weight control
Split meals help control appetite, reducing the trend of overeating at main meals.
According to the WHO, maintaining a reasonable weight is one of the most effective measures to prevent diabetes.
How to apply the habit of dividing meals scientifically:
Full breakfast: prioritize lean protein (boiled eggs, unsweetened yogurt), whole grains and green vegetables.
Healthy snack: In the mid-morning or mid-afternoon, you can have a handful of almonds, an apple or Greek yogurt.
Balanced lunch and dinner: combine lean protein (fish, chicken breast), slow-starch (brown rice, sweet potatoes) and lots of vegetables.
Limit sweets and sugary drinks: because it can easily cause blood sugar to increase rapidly, it is ineffective to divide meals into small pieces.
Maintain the time between meals for about 3-4 hours, do not let it get too hungry before eating. Drinking enough water and exercising gently after meals also help stabilize blood sugar.
