MEAL TIMING MATTERS WHEN TRYING TO BALANCE YOUR HORMONES
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Hear me out- this isn’t meant to have you become obsessed with certain times of the day to eat, but rather the frequency and how our circadian rhythm plays into this!
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1️⃣what is your circadian rhythm? It is our natural sleep to wake body cycle, having cortisol at its highest in the morning, slowly dipping down as the day progresses, thus increasing melatonin closer to the evening. With this circadian rhythm, we have an inner body clock that particular organs are coordinated with certain times of the day, working synergistically with the sun, body movement and meal timing.
2️⃣ when we wake up, we are coming out of a state of fasting (aka sleep). According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), our digestion is at its optimal between 7-9am where it is time of the stomach. To reignite the digestive fire and fuel oneself for the day we need to EAT. This makes sense, for if one wants to maintain stress levels at bay, eating right when waking is encouraged to avoid blood sugar drop and have one run off of stress hormones.
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Entering noon, we enter the time of the heart, where the heart is pumping nutrients to provide energy all over the body. Lunch is recommended between 11am-1pm so one doesn’t lose steam, to keep that digestive fire and energy going.
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Interestingly enough, between 3-5pm most people get that afternoon crash, usually reaching for that afternoon coffee. Sound familiar? This is the time of the bladder and coffee is the worst thing one can reach for because it will dehydrate you if you drink it alone. Most people experiencing that crash are simply not balancing their blood sugar or not eating enough in the morning hours, thus an increase in urination which is a sign of stress.
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Going into the evening, the time of the pericardium, is associated with our HPA axis. This is when we want to start winding down and not spike blood sugar or stress hormones, thus having dinner right before or at the time is recommended so we can digest our food before sleep and have our livers properly fueled for the fasting we will experience whilst sleeping.

Experiencing restorative and properly fueled sleep is IMPERATIVE for specific hormones such as growth hormone, prolactin and luteinizing hormone. Our TSH also lowers at night if we are not stressed.
All this to say, eating frequently, and around the same times is helpful in keeping the body in a cycle where it feels ‘safe’. We are cyclical creatures, just as we follow a circadian rhythm, a menstrual cycle, and even an organ cycle according to TCM.
For more info about our Inner Body Clock according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, click HERE.