Moderation in Eating
Moderation in Eating
Dietary moderation is one of our ancestors’ great inventions in health preservation. Over time, they accumulated rich experience, with one key principle being moderation in eating—crucial for health maintenance. Moderation means regular, measured eating—neither too hungry nor too full.
(1) Eat at Regular Times
Regular meal times are vital for health. The *Lüshi Chunqiu* states: “Eat according to time, and the body will be free from disasters.” The *Shangshu* advocates “Eat according to season.” Consistent, scheduled eating establishes conditioned reflexes, enabling digestive and absorptive functions to operate rhythmically. Near mealtime, the gastrointestinal tract begins secreting digestive juices. Food is then digested and absorbed orderly, distributing nutrients throughout the body. Irregular eating disrupts the digestive rhythm, overworking the gut without rest, weakening digestive function, reducing appetite, and harming health. Traditionally, three meals a day are standard. Strict adherence to this schedule, avoiding snacks, fosters strong digestion and benefits overall health.
(2) Eat in Appropriate Quantities
The body requires a certain daily food intake to sustain life. Insufficient intake deprives the body of essential nutrients, affecting health and potentially causing disease. Conversely, overeating damages spleen and stomach function, leading to illness. As stated in *Suwen·Bilun*: “Overeating injures the intestines and stomach.”
Modern medicine confirms that after overeating, fibroblast growth factor in the brain increases by tens of thousands of times compared to before eating. This factor is a major contributor to early brain aging. Early brain aging accelerates aging of other organs. Hence, a popular belief today is that slightly reducing food intake—keeping the body in a semi-starved state—can stimulate the autonomic nervous system, endocrine system, and immune system, promoting self-regulation, stabilizing internal environment, boosting immunity, and maintaining neurological balance. Experiments by the U.S. National Institute on Aging show animals allowed free feeding live shorter lives and suffer more diseases than those with restricted intake. Researchers infer that limiting calorie intake could slow physiological aging and extend human lifespan by up to 40 years.