Is it better to eat several small meals or fewer larger ones?

Many of us may have heard that eating several small meals daily can help improve metabolism and achieve optimal health. However, evidence to support this claim is mixed. In this Honest Nutrition feature, we take an in-depth look at the current research behind meal frequency and discuss the benefits of small frequent meals compared with fewer, larger ones

It is widely accepted in modern culture that people should divide their daily diet into three large meals — breakfast, lunch, and dinner — for optimal health. This belief primarily stems from culture and early epidemiological studiesTrusted Source.

In recent years, however, experts have begun to change their perspective, suggesting that eating smaller, more frequent meals may be best for preventing chronic disease and weight loss. As a result, more people are changing their eating patterns in favor of eating several small meals throughout the day. Those who advocate for eating small, frequent meals suggest that this eating pattern can:

• improve satiety, or feeling full after a meal
• increase metabolism and body composition
• prevent dips in energy
• stabilize blood sugar
• prevent overeating.

While a few studies support these recommendations, others show no significant benefit. In fact, some research suggests it may be more beneficial to stick with three larger meals.

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Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?

Breakfast is often described as the most important meal of the day, but is skipping this morning meal really detrimental to health? Newer research suggests this may not be as bad as many of us believe. In this Honest Nutrition feature, we take an in-depth look at breakfast and whether skipping it is really harmful.

Breakfast literally means “to break the fast.” It is the first meal of the day after a stretch of not eating overnight. Breakfast earned its title as the most important meal of the day back in the 1960s after American nutritionist Adelle Davis suggested that to keep fit and avoid obesity, one should “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” Though a recent study of 30,000 adults found that 15% regularly skipped breakfast, many still believe it to be the most important meal of the day. Breakfast provides the body with important nutrients, to start the day feeling energized and nourished. Many also believe that it can promote weight loss. But is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?

As with most things in nutrition, the answer is complex. While some research suggests that skipping breakfast is not harmful, other research suggests otherwise. Eating regular meals and snacks, including breakfast, allows for more opportunities throughout the day to give the body the energy and nutrients it needs to function optimally. However, as long as a person can fit their nutrients in during other meals, breakfast may not be the most critical meal of the day.

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Easy To Grow Plants To Brighten Up Your Office

If you’re working from home or heading to the office each day, one thing remains certain: an organized, clean and friendly workspace is a great avenue for productivity and can help to improve overall job satisfaction too.

Nothing brightens up an office or work area like plants, and especially if they are low maintenance and able to grow even without getting as much sunlight as some others. Our list today features some of the easiest plants to grow irrespective of if the plants are on a desk or in a darker corner somewhere.

Getting your hands on any of these four interesting plants is sure to offer an instant mood boost and will add to the inviting feeling best suited to any work environment:

• English Ivy
• Bromeliad
• Peace Lily
• Dracaena

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Si, for Vitamin C

Essential skincare ingredients tend to rise and fall in trends but there are some that have stood the test of time.

I’m looking at you, Vitamin C. Scientifically known as ascorbic acid, this nutrient is well known to brighten and improve skin condition while preventing wrinkling.

And since I’ve been on a quest to look for a face oil/serum to improve the state of my sensitive skin, I decided to try out three different products that all of which contain Vitamin C.

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Our old Singapore Seletar Jalan Kayu

Uncle Kachang Puteh @ Jalan Kayu, Seletar

The Kachang Puteh Man

Once a common sight outside cinemas & markets, the local road-side snack institution is vanishing

Parked at the entrance of Peace Centre in Selegie Road is the last bastion of Singapore’s yesteryear snack culture. Over the past two decades, a humble pushcart peddling an eclectic assortment of kachang puteh (“kachang” refers to nuts and “puteh” or “putih” means white in Malay) has remained a fixture along the bustling street.

Simply known as “Kachang Puteh”, the metallic pushcart is crammed with 20 types of nuts, legumes and crackers that are housed in bright red-capped bottles. Popular nibbles include cashew nuts, tapioca fritters, sugar-coated peanuts, prawn sticks and murukku. For those who prefer to pop something warm into their mouths, there are also lightly-salted boiled peanuts and chickpeas that are served warm from an electric steamer. Customers can pick and choose which munchies to fill up their folded paper cones (from $1 for two types of snacks).

Mending the stall is Amirthaalangaram Moorthy, a third-generation kachang puteh seller, who arrived here in 2004 from his native Tamil Nadu to continue his family business. The Singapore permanent resident hails from a family that has a long-standing history with kachang puteh. The 51-year-old says that many kachang puteh sellers live in his ancestral village in southern India due to the abundance of nuts grown in the area.

related: The Ice-Cream Uncles

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Glaucoma, the disease that causes vision loss

Symptoms to watch out for

Glaucoma is a disease that affects the eyes - the optic nerve in particular - and if not treated in time can also lead to loss of vision. This eye disease affects around 55 million people worldwide and it is very important to try to prevent it as much as possible so that sight is preserved. (Source: Humanitas Hospital Milan).

Glaucoma is caused by either increased internal pressure in the eye or, in limited cases, reduced blood supply to the optic nerve. The resulting damage leads to visual field loss, initially in peripheral portions and later in central areas of the visual field, impairing vision. Glaucoma can be caused by congenital forms, i.e. forms that already occur at birth, or non-congenital forms. What causes it, even in non-congenital forms, is a reduction in the function of the trabecular meshwork, which is responsible for draining the aqueous humour from inside the eye to the outside. If the trabecularis does not function as it should, an increase in pressure inside the eye occurs, which then causes damage to the optic nerve and thus leads to the development of glaucoma.

To try to prevent the onset of glaucoma as much as possible, it is important to pay attention to the symptoms it can cause. These include loss of side, top and bottom vision that can cause difficulty in reading, driving and moving around spaces. Regular eye examinations are a good way to prevent the disease also because increased blood pressure is not immediately felt with symptoms. Individuals who are most at risk of developing glaucoma, and who should therefore undergo regular examinations, are especially those who have already had a family history of glaucoma, people with visual field defects, people who suffer from high myopia or diabetes, and people who have been taking cortisone medication for a long time.

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