“You need to eat three meals a day; otherwise, your teeth will fall out.”
That was my husband’s brilliant theory during one of our afternoon walks. According to him, chewing is what keeps teeth in place—skip a meal, and they’ll tumble right out. A Brothers Grimm explanation for modern nutrition if there ever was one.
As funny as it sounds, his story got us thinking: why do we believe in the three-meal-a-day rule at all? Who decided breakfast, lunch, and dinner should rule our lives? In this article, we’ll explore the surprising history of the three-meal day, why our hunger cues aren’t as fixed as we think, and whether our bodies actually need this schedule.