Breakfast like an Emperor and Supper like a Beggar (朝飯夕粥)

During the patient intake, we ask about their digestive health, their meal schedule, and what their diet usually consists of. This is important information that can tell us about the patient’s Spleen and Stomach health, and it is mandatory information when the patient is suffering from digestive issues, diabetes, or obesity. At this time, we often find that patients do not have breakfast, especially so here in the West compared to the East. The typical reason for not having breakfast is that they are “not hungry” or “don’t have an appetite” or they "don't have time in the morning". So then we ask what they have for lunch, and we find out that they have a light lunch like a sandwich (especially if they pack their lunch) or a salad. At the end, we hear that their dinner/supper can vary, usually something with protein such as a steak, chicken, or fish, and carbohydrates like bread, potatoes, noodles, or rice.

It may be nice to go over terminology at this point since the words used for midday and evening meals differ according to the generation and the region (and it is also interesting to learn!). Nowadays, most parts of the United States and Canada use dinner and supper synonymously. However, in the English language, the word “dinner” originally referred to the main and the largest meal of the day while “supper” was used for the lighter meal eaten later in the evening (originating from the Old French term soper - an evening meal). This explains why restaurants may sometimes have the same dish in the “lunch” and “dinner” menus, but a larger serving is given for the dinner item.

“Dinner”, the main meal of the day used to be served midday during the 18th and 19th centuries, and it was even earlier (even as early as 9 am) in the 12th century. After eating a large meal during the day, people ate “supper”, a smaller and lighter meal in the evening. Having the largest meal in the morning or around noon made sense in an agrarian society where people came back home from their farmwork to have their midday meals. The timing of this main meal changed with the Industrial Revolution during the 20th century. With many people working away from home in factories and thus bringing their midday meals to their workplace, it was difficult to have a large meal during the day. Therefore, people started to shift their main meal to the evening. This is why “dinner” became a common word to refer to the evening meal nowadays.

According to the dictionary and a column on vocabulary, the word “supper” is used in most parts of Canada to refer to the evening meal. In Saskatchewan and most parts of Atlantic Canada, supper’s definition also included “the main meal of the day”. The word “dinner” is used for the evening meal in British Columbia and southern Ontario. As for the midday meal, “dinner” is used in the prairie region, whereas “lunch” is used in the rest of Canada. It is quite confusing, right? However, such differences are natural because the regions that were not heavily impacted by the Industrial Revolution continued to use the word “supper” for the evening meal and these places were also more likely to have colloquial terminologies that got passed down from generation to generation.

That was a long talk on the terminology, but the lesson we can get from that is that the largest meal is consumed in the evening nowadays, after having only a tiny amount of food throughout the day. However, this pattern of consumption goes against what our body is doing throughout the day. Prior to using our brains or our muscles for work, we need to consume sufficient food as an energy source. At the end of the day when we rest our brains and muscles and also when we sleep, we don’t need a large amount of energy source. We also need to give our internal organs the time to rest when the brain and the muscles are resting. According to life cultivation methods to live a healthy and longevous life, it is suggested that we have approximately 30 minutes of light exercise in the morning after sleep to wake up our body and the brain in preparation for work. Afterwards, a nutritious meal should be consumed sufficiently without rush (take about 30 minutes to finish the meal). Around the noontime (mid-work), it is also suggested to consume nutrition. After lunch, it is quite common to feel a bit drowsy and thus having a quick 10 – 15 minute nap or resting with eyes closed will be very helpful for health and the efficiency of work, as opposed to having a cup of coffee or tea. Upon returning home after work, the meal that is consumed should be light (not greasy nor heavy) and must not cause a sensation of fullness. The evening meal should be followed by one hour of rest, then an evening walk for about 1 hour (pace of 5 – 6km/hr). We should go to bed at least 3 hours after eating our last meal when our stomach has finished digesting. Apart from weight control, this is also important for our sleep quality. We will look at an exemplary schedule later. 

When we have only a small amount of food throughout the day, we will feel hungry when we eat in the evening, causing the tendency to eat rapidly and overeat as compensation. Eating a large portion primarily consisting of meat and other high-caloric food will make our body feel heavy and lethargic afterwards making us want to fall asleep on the couch or the bed. However, our stomach will have to continue to release stomach acid and churn the contents and thus it is difficult to have a restful sleep. At the same time, a full stomach compresses the heart when we lay down and other digestive organs like the liver and gallbladder also cannot rest. The result of this is difficulty waking up the next morning due to fatigue even after sleeping and swelling of the face or the body. With this kind of consumption pattern, there also is a high chance of developing acid reflux. Acid reflux can cause a sore or uncomfortable throat, foul breath, and vulnerability to gum diseases.  

According to a recent investigation during the COVID pandemic, the mortality rate from COVID-19 infection was proportional to the obesity rate. This makes sense when we look at the lifestyle of obese or overweight individuals. These individuals are less likely to have good eating and exercising habits which are very important for the immune system as well as the ability to recover from an illness. Vaccines which are used to promote antibody production in our body only give us immunity against the specific antigen (e.g. virus), even if we have up to 4 dosages of it. If the antigen mutates, it is useless. Therefore, the most important thing is to strengthen and maintain that strength of our immune system. A good eating habit is one of the fundamental conditions for this. We work to be able to feed and sustain ourselves. We should not be forced to eat irregularly, in a hurry, or skip meals just to end up overeating late at night due to our work, because that defeats the original purpose. This will reduce our quality of life as well as our vitality.

Let’s change our eating habits first if we do not want to spend extra money on healthcare. Naturally, we should be hungry in the morning if we slept with an empty stomach the night before. If we do not feel hungry in the morning, that is either because we ate until late the night before, or because not enough time has passed since we woke up for our organs to be vigorous. For a person who works from 9am – 5pm, the best schedule is to wake up between 6 – 7am (this time is also when exercising and washing ourselves should be done), then prep and eat breakfast (a proper and the largest meal of the day) between 7 – 8am, go to work, eat lunch between 12:30 - 1:30pm, then after work prep and have a light dinner between 6 – 7pm, resting or chores for 1 hour, followed by a walk or a light exercise between 8 – 9pm, resting and preparing to go to bed for another hour, and finally going to sleep between 10 – 11pm. Depending on the individuals, there may be +/- 30 minute differences to this schedule but this would be the most ideal type of timetable for a light and healthy life. Next time, we will talk about how we can escape from overweightness or obesity without spending money.