Cart The circadian diet
Out body clock, or circadian rhythm, goes through many stages in a 24-hour period. We cannot affect the natural pace at which our personal body clock progresses, but we can make the processes it goes through more effective; for example, by eating the right foods at the right times of day for us. It is obvious that our bodies utilize less energy at night, when we are resting and sleeping, than they do during the day, when energy is expended to enable us to function at work and play. Why is it then that so many of us eat huge meals at the end of the day, when we don’t actually need the energy that the food provides? What goes into those meals is also important.Often we load up on carbohydrates in the mornings and during the day. Whether in the form of sandwiches, croissant, muffins, cereal, or even fruit juice, all are high in carbohydrates. Dinner can often be high in protein, such as chicken, fish, or red meat. In fact, it is during the "day shift" that protein is actually needed. At this time it creates the correct chemical reactions in the body that enable us to stay mentally alert and physically active. If we are low in protein during the day, we suffer from poor attention span, confusion, and low energy – even apathy. The "night shift" is the time for carbohydrates, which are essential then because they enable the body to perform crucial repair work to damaged cells and produce new ones, detoxifying our systems and ensuring we get adequate rest and healthy, beneficial sleep.
Following such a regime is a tall order for most people, whose normal habits will literally need to be turned head over heels. However, the general indication is that great health benefits can be achieved if the majority of protein is eaten in the morning and at lunchtime, and the majority of carbohydrate in the evening. It is believed that adopting this eating pattern could be instrumental in alleviating or even curing a variety of recurring health problems.
Our cultural habit is to eat too much carbohydrate, in the form of starchy and sugary food, too frequently. This is a fairly recent occurrence, historically, and we just have not evolved as quickly as our eating habits have changed. Problems with processing carbohydrates in the body, and specifically a disorder called insulin resistance or carbohydrate poisoning, are responsible for many conditions blamed on high cholesterol, such as weight gain and some cardiovascular disease. Generally too much carbohydrate causes overly high insulin levels, which can lead to insulin resistance, which in turn can contribute to heart disease, diabetes, and chronic inflammatory problems. The circadian diet addresses this common problem by reducing the number of times a day that carbohydrates are eaten to one, as would have been the common practice of our ancestors.
Conditions that are known to respond to the circadian diet include asthma, arthritis, premenstrual problems, infertility, and menopause and prostate problems, to name but a few.
Circadian meals
10 power breakfast:
sliced fruit, cottage cheese, herb omelet, ham omelet, crème fraiche over slices of melon and strawberries, peanut butter thickly spread on a thin slice of toast, nut protein bar, 2 eggs and ham fried in olive oil, broiled tomatoes with broiled fish, chopped bacon and scrambled eggs, honey and nuts in plain yogurt.
10 protein lunches:
Green salad, lamb and onion kabob, salad with egg mayonnaise, salad with clam chowder/fish soup, green salad with cauliflower and cheese, green vegetables with broiled pork chops and applesauce, salad with salmon or lox, beef stew, salad nicoise, chicken casserole, chicken salad.
10 carbohydrate dinners: green salad with vegetable bake, wholewheat pasta slad with bell peppers, vegetable burger in seeded bun with salad, thick vegetable soup, green salad, and warm bread, potato and mushroom bake, dolmades (grape leaves with rice) with hummus and pita bread, tomato macaroni, herb sauce, and green salad, warm focaccia bread, large potato, onion and chive salad, carrot and raisin salad, and watercress salad, vegetable casserole with wholewheat bun, vegetable lasagne.
