Just Wondering About Food Intake

[cassa333]

I was reading about starving people and wondered, if you had only enough for to feed a person one nutritious meal a day would it be better to cut it into two or three portions and have throughout the day or as one meal?

[spathiphyllum]

It would depend as people have different metabolisms. Some people benefit from grazing and others benefit from having meals.

For example, my friend has one large meal a day in the evening, where as i have a big breakfast small lunch and a smaller dinner.

It also depends what the body is use to.

Now, i couldn't go half a day without eating, and i'm sure my friend has no appetite when he wakes up.

[spathiphyllum]

If i was starving and had one meal i would have parts of it throughout the day. My friend though, he would eat it all at once.

[Mamyalynne]

It may depend on other factors too, is there a safe way to store any uneaten portion until later that day and what is the person due to be doing during the day.

Might they need little and often to keep energy levels ticking over?

[Sqad]

I don't think it would matter one single jot.

[237SJ]

I'm not sure it would make a difference but maybe depends what you eat. Prey animals only eat once a day if they're lucky and it doesn't seem to do them any harm but vegetation eaters need to graze. So maybe if you eat protein one meal a day works but if you eat carbs or veg you need to eat more often to keep full and keep blood sugar levels from the carbs more stable

[ladybirder]

When a starved dog is brought into a Rescue it will be given several small meals a day. They say the reason for this is that if given all at once it would be sick. I don't see that it would be much different with humans.

[Sqad]

Ladybirder.

" if you had only enough for to feed a person one nutritious meal a day"
I didn't read it that we were dealing with a starving person, I read it that if one had only enough food for each day, then could it be given in one go or in small pieces.
I agree that if a starving person turned up at your house, you would not give them a whole meal in one go.

[ladybirder]

Sqad it was the first line of cassa's OP that made me think she was talking about starving people;-))

[Sqad]

Yes I understand that Ladybird, it was a little confusing.

[Tilly2]

This doesn't answer the question but is a little anecdote.

My 99year old great uncle would buy a beef crusty roll from the pub on Friday, take it home, put the beef in the fridge and replace it with sliced cheese.

He would then have the beef, warmed up, on Saturday and Sunday with vegetables, potatoes and gravy.

How's that for making it last. :-)

[ladybirder]

Must have had a generous portion of beef to be able to do that Tilly?

[Tilly2]

Two slices, LB. He was a tiny, little man.

[ladybirder]

One slice of beef for Saturday and one for Sunday. No wonder was little:-)

[cassa333]

All interesting points.

I think I was thinking of people that have to work hard for meagre rations. Maybe those in the forced labour camps and things.

But also I remember when My sister worked ina women’s hostel and there were some ‘vulnerable ‘ single women with babies or very young children that they either fed babies absolutely the wrong food for its age or just very little of the wrong foods to the toddlers.

She told me when she tried to help these women in feeding the children, advice on what or how much or even in some cases turning the pot off as it was burning and becoming inedible was told by the social workers not to. That these women had to feed them and as long as the children one meal a day that was legally enough.