Dr. Álvaro Campillo starts his mornings in a way that may surprise anyone used to a big breakfast. The digestive surgeon says he has coffee with 14 spices, then tea, hydration, and nothing else until midday.
His point is not that everyone should copy him. Instead, Campillo is drawing attention to chrononutrition, the growing field that studies how meal timing affects metabolism, inflammation, energy, and long-term health. “The key is not only what you eat, but when you eat,” he says.
A different kind of food rule
For years, healthy eating advice has mostly focused on calories, protein, fat, carbs, and vitamins. Campillo argues that the clock deserves a seat at the table too.
That idea is not coming out of nowhere. The American Heart Association has reviewed evidence around meal timing, meal frequency, fasting, breakfast skipping, and their possible cardiometabolic effects.
In practical terms, this means two people could eat the same foods but respond differently depending on whether those meals are eaten early, late, regularly, or in a rushed pattern. It is a simple idea, but it changes the way many people think about “eating well.”
His daily routine
Campillo says his own routine is built around a light morning and a stronger midday meal. “In the morning I have coffee with 14 spices. Then I have tea and nothing else until noon, just hydration,” he explains.
At lunch, he tries to include vegetables rich in polyphenols and phytochemicals, along with an adequate serving of protein. Sometimes he does not eat dinner at all, leaving the main meal for midday.
That sounds strict, doesn’t it? Campillo’s wider message is actually less extreme than it may seem. He says the basics are sleep, movement, stress control, and real food, not a magical eating window or a supplement stack.
Why timing matters
Chrononutrition looks at the connection between food intake and the body’s internal clock. A 2025 review described it as a field that studies how eating patterns interact with circadian rhythms and influence energy balance.
That does not mean late meals are automatically dangerous or that breakfast is mandatory for everyone. Life is messier than that, especially with work shifts, school schedules, traffic, and family dinners.
But experts are paying closer attention to regularity. A 2025 report on chrononutrition noted evidence around earlier and shorter eating windows, along with more consistent day-to-day eating patterns, for cardiometabolic health.
Inflammation and aging
Campillo also talks about “inflammaging,” a term used to describe chronic, low-grade inflammation linked with aging. He connects this process with common long-term problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, depression, and difficult-to-correct anemia.
Scientific reviews have described inflammaging as a progressive inflammatory state associated with adverse outcomes in aging, including frailty.
Still, this is not a reason to panic over every meal. The more useful takeaway is quieter and more doable. Lowering chronic stress, sleeping well, moving often, and cutting back on ultra-processed foods may matter more than chasing the newest wellness shortcut.
Sleep comes first
Before supplements, Campillo points to sleep. “If we don’t sleep, everything becomes disorganized,” he says.
The CDC recommends that adults get at least 7 hours of sleep each day. It also reports that insufficient sleep among adults varies widely by state, ranging from 30 percent in Vermont to 46 percent in Hawaii in 2022.
That is not just a wellness slogan. Sleep is when the body runs many repair and regulation processes, the kind no expensive product can fully replace. Bad nights happen, of course, but chronic poor sleep can quietly knock everything else off balance.
Movement is not just the gym
Campillo also warns against becoming what many experts now call a “sedentary athlete.” That means going to the gym for an hour, then sitting for the rest of the day.
His advice is more everyday than heroic. Stand up every 90 minutes or two hours, move around, walk, and add strength training when possible.
The CDC says adults need 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week, plus 2 days of muscle-strengthening activity. It also stresses that some activity is better than none.
Protein with age
Campillo says protein becomes especially important as people get older because the body can become more resistant to muscle protein synthesis. That is why he recommends spreading protein more evenly through the day.
He gives a practical target of about 25 to 30 grams of protein at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This lines up with research showing that about 25 to 30 grams per meal can maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis in young and older adults.
Many people do the opposite. They eat little protein in the morning, some at lunch, and most of it at dinner. A more balanced pattern may be easier on the body and more useful for preserving muscle over time.
Supplements are not shortcuts
Campillo does take dietary supplements, but he is careful about how he frames them. Used as a bridge while improving lifestyle, he says, they can make sense.
The problem comes when people use them as permission to ignore sleep, diet, movement, and stress. “Thinking that because I take supplements I can do whatever I want is a mistake,” he says.
That caution matters. The FDA says dietary supplements are meant to add to the diet and are different from conventional foods, and products intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent disease are regulated as drugs.
The real lesson
Campillo’s routine may not fit everyone, especially people with diabetes, a history of eating disorders, pregnancy, intense athletic needs, or medications that require food. Anyone considering fasting or major meal changes should talk with a health professional first.
But the broader lesson is surprisingly simple. Eat mostly real foods, reduce ultra-processed products, protect sleep, move through the day, build strength, and stop treating stress like a normal background noise.
At the end of the day, his message is not about perfection. It is about moving away from quick fixes and toward habits the body can actually live with.
The official workshop report was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
