Nutritionist José María Catalina de la Peña states that certain nutritional practices can increase the risk of obesity and other metabolic diseases. After several years of research and analysis of his own body’s reactions, as a federated cyclist, and that of other athletes, José María decided to question several traditional nutrition recommendations in his book Human Design. Among the topics covered, this habit stands out, which, according to him, does not correspond to the way the human body was designed to function.
The habit in question is eating meals 5 times a day, according to . According to the expert, who explained that the human body stores energy mainly in the form of fat, this reserve, according to him, would be enough to keep a thin person alive for several months with just water and minerals. Glycogen, known as the “glucose reserve”, has a limited capacity and can store around 2,300 kcal in trained athletes. “This means that our glycogen stores would not be enough to last us a whole day”, explains the nutritionist. This data, according to de la Peña, helps to identify what should be the main macronutrient in our diet and the energy substrate that sustains the majority of daily consumption.
The expert details that, when we eat, the first thing to be replenished are the glycogen reserves stored in the liver and muscles. After filling these reserves, the rest of the energy ingested is converted into fat. “Therefore, when expending energy, liver glycogen would be used first, and, if we exercised, muscle glycogen would also be consumed. Only then would we start to oxidize the fat”, explains Catalina.
However, if we don’t allow breaks between meals and don’t perform intense physical exercise, the body never completely empties its glycogen reserves, which are around 2,000 kcal. This means that the body constantly remains in storage mode, using only immediate glucose reserves, without the need to draw on accumulated fat. “If we don’t leave space between meals and also don’t do vigorous exercise, we will never be able to empty our glycogen reserves and, therefore, we will never need to use the large deposit, the fat deposit”, concludes the nutritionist, when explaining why 5 meals daily rates do not correspond to the way the human body should function.
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