Skipping Meals before Thanksgiving Dinner Can Be Bad for Gut Health

“Saving space” for a big Thanksgiving dinner may be bad for gut health

By Lauren J. Young edited by Tanya Lewis

To savor every delicious Thanksgiving dish, it can be tempting to “save room” in your stomach before the big event by skipping breakfast or lunch. But gut health experts say eating little or nothing all day and then consuming a large meal, especially a rich, hearty meal, can be taxing on the tummy.

“It’s very common for people to talk about saving room for special meals or holiday meals, and certainly around Thanksgiving,” says Kathryn Tomasino, a psychologist specializing in gastrointestinal health at Northwestern University. But fasting before a large meal “can have negative consequences, both for people with gastrointestinal disorders and for general digestion.”

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How Fasting Affects Gut Hormones

Scientists can gain insight into what happens to the gut during these large meals by extrapolating data from fasting research. Normally, when people eat regular meals throughout the day, eating food triggers a cascade of different hormones that signal hunger, aid digestion, control blood sugar, and cause fullness or fullness.

“It’s a beautifully orchestrated system,” says Janice Jin Hwang, chief of the division of endocrinology and metabolism at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

True fasting, which many researchers define as 10 hours or more without eating anything, causes changes in this process. Hwang explains that the fasting body is essentially preparing to absorb more nutrients once you start eating again: The gut can experience systemic pain, better known as “hunger pangs.” Stomach muscle movements increase to help move and digest food more quickly. Brain circuits involved in desire and motivation for food become activated, ultimately influencing how people approach their next meal behaviorally and psychologically, Tomasino says.

“If you fast all day and then go to eat a big meal, you may feel like your eyes are bigger than your stomach,” she says.

As a result, people may construct their plates differently. They are more likely to choose very tasty foods that contain more fat and sugar. After a day without eating, the brain is more attracted to these types of energy-rich foods, says Tomasino. It’s also common to eat more quickly on an emptier stomach, which can cause people to ingest more air and become bloated. And eating quickly can mean chewing less carefully, resulting in larger, harder-to-digest pieces of food.

“You also don’t take the time to allow these digestive processes to send signals to the brain like they usually would, because everything is happening so quickly, so it’s very easy to become too full,” says Tomasino. “You know, that feeling of ‘I need to unbuckle my seatbelt’.”

Being drunk isn’t just physically uncomfortable; Too much food in the intestine can lead to gastric reflux and regurgitation. Ultimately, being too full can lead to poor sleep, abdominal pain, and disturbed bowel movements. Skipping meals in an effort to be more calorie or weight conscious also tends to backfire because of this overeating behavior, Tomasino adds.

Hwang suspects that most healthy people can probably adapt to the occasional change between fasting and eating a large meal. But suddenly devouring a large, carbohydrate-rich meal could cause problems for people with diabetes or obesity, however. “Sometimes there may be a little lag and your body may produce more insulin than it needs or less,” which could lead to dangerously low or high blood sugar levels, respectively, says Hwang.

Tomasino generally does not recommend that anyone practice fasting before a feast, regardless of their health.

“From a health standpoint, I don’t think it’s a good choice to skip meals instead of having a really big meal later, because you’re not actually saving space,” says Tomasino. “If you eat breakfast, most of that food will leave your stomach long before you eat another meal four to five hours later.”

Eating Holiday Meals Mindfully

Tomasino and Hwang have some tips for protecting your gut health while still allowing people to enjoy a delicious spread. Research has shown that the order Where you eat the food on your plate can influence how your body processes the meal, says Hwang. A small study from 2015 in Diabetes Care found that when people with type 2 diabetes ate the same meal twice on different days, eating the carbohydrates first led to higher glucose levels than eating the protein and vegetables first.

“So if you haven’t eaten in a while and all of a sudden you eat a lot of carbs, those will be broken down into glucose much more quickly and will stimulate more insulin than if you eat a meal with more fat, more protein, or more fiber that will be digested a little more slowly,” says Hwang.

If you end up gobbling down too much turkey and pumpkin pie after not eating all day (perhaps forgetting to eat during the prep or festivities), Tomasino and Hwang advise you to try not to stress out or feel ashamed. Tomasino recommends aiding digestion with some physical activity, such as doing housework or taking a walk with the family.

“If you overdo it, try not to beat yourself up about it,” says Tomasino. “Give yourself the grace to have a little fun this Thanksgiving. »

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