Does grazing accelerate aging?

[Queen Bean]

I've been reading Kymberly Snyder's book 'The Beauty Detox Solution'. She says that you shouldn't graze, that three meals a day is optimal (four if you need it), as each time you eat, your enzyme reserves are drawn on. What are your thoughts?

[MysticTree]

My thoughts . . .

Life's too short to spend time worrying about whether to eat 3 meals a day or to graze. I am happy to grow old the way I am meant to - how ever that may be.

[Revvell]

My thought is, how does she know this? People have been grazing since forever because they couldn't get food. Now, we sit and overeat 3 (or 4 meals a day).... people write stuff in books... you can find the opposite in someone else's book. I say eat when your hungry, sleep when you're tired and enjoy life always! (Oh and remember ~ stay hydrated, get up and mooove and play with your food!)

[MysticTree]

well she probably doesn't know this but I am sure she wouldn't like it widely known!!!

[sport]

Was she talking about raw food or cooked food.

[Dent de Lion]

My thought is, how does she know this? People have been grazing since forever because they couldn't get food. Now, we sit and overeat 3 (or 4 meals a day).... people write stuff in books... you can find the opposite in someone else's book. I say eat when your hungry, sleep when you're tired and enjoy life always! (Oh and remember ~ stay hydrated, get up and mooove and play with your food!)


People have been eating meat and cooked for ages too, because they couldn't get food. Primates tend to graze on greens, but eat their more calorically-dense foods (fruits, insects) as meals. If I understood Kimberly Snyder's book correctly, she is mainly talking about cooked food when she says grazing isn't great. She indicates that there is nothing terribly wrong with snacking, and makes sure to emphasize she's only criticizing EXCESSIVE grazing (and then, grazing on cooked food is worse than raw.)

Her reasoning makes sense, and her sources are good. She's certainly not the only person who says this, I might add.

I think she's right, that it's not IDEAL for our health to graze, but heck eat the way you want to and however makes you feel good.

[Revvell]

People have been eating meat and cooked for ages too, because they couldn't get food.


Uhhh, really? So, what were they cooking?

[MysticTree]

Uhhh, really? So, what were they cooking?

too funny :LOL:

[Queen Bean]

From my understanding of the book, she means cooked or raw food. Basically she recommends breakfast, lunch and dinner, and an afternoon snack if needed. She recommends eating these only when hungry. She recommends eating enough in these meals to tide you over to the next, as opposed to lots of snacks. Basically she says one meal needs to fully digest before the next is eaten, otherwise a toxic sludge tends to build up.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Maybe she has a point but if you fill your stomach and pack it too much, it is so hard on you. You should never eat more then 80% of your stomach capacity. I don't buy of eating only when you are hungry etc... maybe she is up to something or not. I feel you need to do what feels right to you versus going on to fear. If you resonate with this book then give a try, if you partially resonate then take and leave.

Over eating isn't good and not eating late is fantastic for your body. Doing one day of water fast, save one month of detox as per dr.Morse. Maybe this is more the choice of snack that you choose.

Doing raw food is a journey, you adjust and make changes as you go along. My last meal is most the time in the afternoon, it happened naturally. I am simply not hungry. Since i have been increasing my fruits from morning up to lunch, my desire to eat dropped. I love a salad as my last meal.

Anyway, i wouldn't engorge to avoid snacking, but i would consume as much whole food as you can and fresh.

Enjoy your journey!

[DandelionPuff]

I think...
meals are convenient... It's easy to sit down before school and have enough calories to get me through the school day (with the help of a snack). It's too difficult to snack throughout the day, and most teachers don't like it. But whatever works~
Eat when hungry, stop when full... the body knows.

[Dent de Lion]

Uhhh, really? So, what were they cooking?

Lol I was trying to mimic your phrasing as best I could. I suppose I shouldn't have. I just mean that just because humans have done something for a long time doesn't necessarily mean it's ideal :)

[Dent de Lion]

Maybe she has a point but if you fill your stomach and pack it too much, it is so hard on you. You should never eat more then 80% of your stomach capacity. I don't buy of eating only when you are hungry etc... maybe she is up to something or not. I feel you need to do what feels right to you versus going on to fear. If you resonate with this book then give a try, if you partially resonate then take and leave.

Over eating isn't good and not eating late is fantastic for your body. Doing one day of water fast, save one month of detox as per dr.Morse. Maybe this is more the choice of snack that you choose.

Doing raw food is a journey, you adjust and make changes as you go along. My last meal is most the time in the afternoon, it happened naturally. I am simply not hungry. Since i have been increasing my fruits from morning up to lunch, my desire to eat dropped. I love a salad as my last meal.

Anyway, i wouldn't engorge to avoid snacking, but i would consume as much whole food as you can and fresh.

Enjoy your journey!

I think she has a lot of good points, and I enjoyed the book. That said, her "program" (really more of a philosophy) as outlined in the book seems to be designed for raw beginners, SAD eaters, and people struggling with raw. Ms. Snyder isn't completely raw herself.

[MyRedPanda]

My thoughts . . .

Life's too short to spend time worrying about whether to eat 3 meals a day or to graze. I am happy to grow old the way I am meant to - how ever that may be.

lol I could not agree more. If you are hungry, eat. Heck, graze. Stop when you are full. Anyway this is what I do and I am not overweight nor do I think I am aging badly ;)

[sport]

I would think that eating too often (especially if, like me, it is going to be fruit) would be hard on the teeth. I also agree that it is not the ideal way from a digestion point of view but I would not make a rule of it.

[MysticTree]

I would think that eating too often (especially if, like me, it is going to be fruit) would be hard on the teeth.

if you eat enough to satisfy you then that is the amount of chewing you will do whether you do it 3 times a day or in smaller amounts 8 times a day.

[sport]

if you eat enough to satisfy you then that is the amount of chewing you will do whether you do it 3 times a day or in smaller amounts 8 times a day.
I do not mean chewing. I mean constantly having high acid levels in my mouth eating what little enamel I have left.

[MysticTree]

that's possible.

[MysticTree]

as each time you eat, your enzyme reserves are drawn on. What are your thoughts?

Enzymes are proteins which the body strings together from amino acids. From what I have read about them they are not a finite reserve. Proteases which "digest" protein chains are known to break the peptide bonds of other proteases and non-protein specific enzymes also so the body generates more enzymes as it needs to.

If the body needs to make a smaller amount of enzymes - and there are a lot of different types that do different things - then maybe the aging process would slow a little but I think grazing on raw food as opposed to three meals of animal protein and cooked foods every day would keep you younger by far

[Queen Bean]

I think there is a lot of contention about the whole enzyme theory, but all I know is, I feel more alive on raw food. I have been eating often throughout the day, but reading more about the importance of resting your digestive system, I am starting with that today. For instance, I'd often eat something like this...

7am - piece of fruit
9am - piece of fruit
11am - piece of fruit
1pm - fruit & greens

(times are just a rough guideline, but you get the picture)

Today I had a fruit smoothie for breakfast. It had the juice of three oranges, three bananas, a pear, some strawberries and grapes. The plan is not to eat again until 1pm. (I've tried many times to 'eat when hungry' and it just doesn't work for me...I become skinny and gaunt looking.) Before I was eating seven or more times a day. Now I am getting that down to five. That is around 7am, 1pm, 4pm, 6pm and 7pm. Some people seem very extreme with their diets, like not eating after 2pm or eating only one meal a day, but that is not for me. So, although I'm not taking everything Kymberly Sndyer has to say on board, I am trying to reduce the number of times I eat a day, as this gives me a break from preparing, or focusing on food, and I think it is better for my digestive system, and potentially my overall health.