Keys to Healthy Eating Habits & Good Nutrition: Matching 3 Food Groups with 3 Meal Times

A few days ago we discussed good nutrition and the three key food groups that should make up your daily nutritional diet. Today I would like to teach you how to develop healthy eating habits around those three food groups in relation to what time of the day is best for each group. One specific food group should supply the majority of each of your three main meals.

Breakfast - Fresh Fruit (Food Group #3) Your daily breakfast should be made up of fruits. As mentioned earlier, fruits must always be eaten alone on an empty stomach. So, why eat fruits first in the day? The reason is because mornings are when your body is in the process of cleansing itself through the process of elimination. While you are sleeping at night, from 11 pm to 5 am, your digestive, assimilative, and restorative systems are hard at work processing the food you ate from the previous 12-14 hours. Your eliminative system, however, is resting. Then, during the morning hours of 5 am to 11 am, your body kicks in to elimination mode and starts cleansing itself of impurities and toxins through your eliminative organs via your skin, lungs, kidneys, and alimentary canal. Eating a large breakfast early in the morning disrupts this cleansing and elimination process. In order to assist and work with your body to help in its cleansing and elimination process, in the early morning your body needs lots of fresh air, lots of natural spring water, and vigorous exercise or physical work. Then, and only then, is your body ready for a breakfast of fresh juicy fruits.

Follow the advice of legendary health writer and life extension specialist, Paul Bragg, who said, "You must earn your breakfast." Think back 100 years ago to the American farmers who rose early and immediately went out to do their heavy chores (feeding the animals, milking the cows, working in the garden, preparing food) BEFORE they sat down to eat their breakfast. It is simply not healthy to eat a large protein-rich breakfast right after waking up in the morning. Give your body time in the morning to cleanse itself while you exercise or work for a while BEFORE you feed it from the fruit food group. I have personally practiced this principle for many years and have found that doing so keeps me "regular" and assists in the daily morning elimination process. I strongly encourage you to follow this sound scientific advice and start working with your body.

Lunch - Grains, Beans, Seeds, & Nuts (Food Group #1) Your biggest meal should be eaten at lunch, and it should consist of grains, beans, seeds, and nuts. By way of reminder, this is the most important and potent health-building food group of all. Grains and legumes in the form of cooked porridge or cereal, or bean, pea, or lentil soup, are best eaten during lunch. You can combine a few fresh vegetables with your cereal meal at lunch. For example, rice can be combined with vegetables.

Dinner - Fresh Vegetables (Food Group #2) The bulk of your dinner should consist of fresh vegetables (raw and lightly cooked). Always eat a large raw vegetable salad during dinner. You can also add potatoes, yams, squash, or any of your favorite raw or steamed vegetables, stews, soups, or other dishes. Keep in mind that you can combine a few things from food group #1 with this meal such as bread, beans, rice, or corn in moderation. However, the major portion of dinner should always be vegetables.


Daily Quote: "You should breakfast like a pauper, lunch like a king, and dine like a queen." - Paavo Airola