I'm writing this article late at night trying to think of an analogy to help you understand why eating inconsistently may give you heartburn, when I notice the laminator on my desk. For those of you who don't know, a laminator is a machine that covers paper in plastic to make signs or to make documents more durable. Anyway, I've recently tried to laminate a page before the machine had warmed up sufficiently. See a laminator must get to a certain temperature to stick two pieces of plastic together and if you put a page in too early the end product will fall apart, which is what happened to me. Another thing about laminators is that you have to wait for the first page to finish before you put in the second. In a way the laminator will reject the second if its not finished with its current job.
I hope you see where I'm getting at here. Stomach's are kind of like laminators (or maybe a lot like them). They have a preparation period. For example, up to 30% of gastric juices are produced during the cephalic phase before food even enters the mouth. Stomach's don't work optimally if they aren't "warmed" up so to speak and there number of factors including hormones that determine whether the stomach is "primed." Eating consistently/on a schedule helps our bodies prepare and process the food we eat. Think of a laminator that knew to turn itself on 10 mins before you tried to laminate something.
Our bodies like to know what to expect. Just like habits save mental energy and become easier over time, eating on a routine has many benefits. We have a number of biological rhythms in our bodies (not just the circadian rhythm that controls our sleep). Even our gut bacteria are on a cycle. The more consistently you eat, the more your body can prepare for and process the food you eat.
Here's what others have to say: 'When you don’t eat at consistent times each day, it can cause your stomach to overwork resulting in bloating and indigestion, but eating on a schedule “will allow proper digestion of your food, which will result in you having a good comfortable feeling in your stomach.”
The key is to eat every 3 to 4 hours in order to allow your stomach to properly digest its contents. By setting specific times for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and sitting down to eat them at the same time each day, your body knows exactly when it’s time to eat, which will help prevent overeating and improve digestive health.'-Sources: http://www.stopcoloncancernow.com/buttseriously/healthy-living-tips/why-eating-on-a-schedule-may-improve-your-digestion
https://www.healthy-eating-for-a-healthier-life.com/healthy-eating-schedule.html
Could the strain of eating sporadically have caused or worsened your GERD?
Health coaching helps you find an eating plan/schedule that works for you.
Health coaching supports you in:
1. Discovering how large your meals should be throughout the day
2. Figuring out how spaced your meals should be
3. Finding out what time you should start and stop eating each day.