Q: how long does it take for a meal to digest?I was told 9-12 hours. if this is true, are we overloading ourselves with food, eating 3to 5 meals a day?

A: A meal will typically take a full 24 hours to pass through your system (we have 25 feet of intestines!), but that doesn't mean we should only eat once a day. Stomach starts emptying almost immediately after eating and typically completes within 4-5 hours. Even if the stomach is not fully empty, you can still have you next meal within 3 hours or even sooner and it won't go to waste or cause any sort of blockage. If your meals are relatively big, then you may well feel very full for the first few days on the new diet, but your system will adjust very quickly.