Increased meal frequency is associated with a reduction in fasting blood glucose levels and plasma insulin concentrations. It is not clear why this might be so, but evidence suggests that reducing the size of the meals and increasing frequency causes nutrients to be oxidised as they are absorbed. In turn this may may prevent build up of substrates in the blood and may reduce the need for insulin. Increased meal frequency may also causes a reduction in the serum levels of triglycerides as the stimulus for de novo lipogenesis, insulin, is reduced in concentration and the total amount of substrate for conversion (glucose or fructose) is limited by the smaller meal. The effects of increased meal frequency are similar to those experienced by increasing dietary fibre, which has lead some to speculate that the effects of fibre in part may be due to the slower release of nutrients, principally glucose, into the blood. This is supported by evidence that shows that increased meal frequency, as with dietary fibre, causes a reduction in cholesterol levels.
For example, researcher have investigated the association between meal frequency and and cholesterol levels in 2034 men and women aged 50 to 89 years1. Meal frequency was assessed with a food questionnaire and total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and triglycerides (also called very low density lipoprotein (VLDL)) were measured following a twelve hour fast in a metabolic unit. Men and women consuming more that four or more meals a day (19 % of subjects) had total and LDL cholesterol levels that were significantly lower (0.23 and 0.16 mmol/L, respectively) than for those consuming 1 to 2 meals a day (9 % of subjects). These associations remained after adjustment for known confounding variables including smoking, alcohol, waist-to-hip ratio, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, and dietary nutrients. There was no association between HDL cholesterol levels or triglyceride levels and the frequency of meals.
These results support other studies that show health effects relating to increased meal frequency. Interestingly, these results show beneficial effects at lowering total and LDL cholesterol with little effect on triglyceride or HDL cholesterol levels. This reflects the benefits seen when increasing dietary levels of soluble fibre such as in oat bran, and this adds weight to the speculation that some of the benefits of increased soluble fibre come from the ability to slow nutrient absorption to the blood. Those eating more frequent meals also consumed more calories, greater levels of total and saturated fat and dietary cholesterol, which supports evidence that dietary levels of fat and cholesterol are not predictive of serum levels of lipids. Those eating at least four times per day had cholesterol levels that were 2.5 % lower than those eating only one or two times per day, and it is reported that a 1 % reduction in plasma cholesterol is associated with a 2 % reduction in cardiovascular disease.
Dr Robert Barrington’s Nutritional Recommendation: These results support the contention that little and often is a better strategy to health with regards to meal frequency. Bodybuilders have known for a long time that more frequent and smaller meals is an effective way to manage insulin and plasma glucose levels. The lower intakes of carbohydrate at each meal, cause less release of insulin, and as a result fatty acid oxidation can proceed more efficiently. This is because fatty acid oxidation is inhibited by high levels of insulin, as would be released by large meals containing large amounts of carbohydrate.
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