Late Night Meal- A Big No For Good Health

We are what we eat, how we eat and when we eat. Our food habits coupled with a suitable exercise regime define our health. Food discipline is nothing but, what to eat, when to eat and how much to eat, the most important and essential point in this ‘Food discipline’ is when to eat. Eating at odd hours or late at night can lead to many health problems.

Food has taken at on the right time, right quantity and of the right nature is the reason for energy in our body. The regime of what, when, and how much, if even one of these goes for a toss, then our body is sure to get affected. The most important aspect of food discipline is eating on time, especially dinner. Now a day due to work culture and lifestyle changes, we ignore this basic food discipline and indulge in untimely eating habits, which are not only harmful to immediate health but can be the reason for long-term health issues. To know more about the ill effects of late dinners and munching ETV Bharat Sukhibhava spoke to expert Nutritionist Divya Kalsekar from Delhi.

Divya Kalsekar told us that it’s a known fact that whenever we eat late from our scheduled dinner time or grab those late-night munches our digestion goes for a toss. The reason being our digestion process is very slow during night times and is very active and kicking in the mornings, that’s why perhaps the saying ‘Eat Breakfast like King, Lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper’. Also, there should be a gap between your dinner and sleeping time, for the gastric juices to start working on the digestion process, also with late-night dinners assimilation of the food which the process of absorption of vitamins, minerals, and other chemicals from food within the gastrointestinal tract, weakens, thus one doesn’t get the required nutrition.

The common problems associated with late-night dinner

Indigestion: Late night eating habit affects the digestion process, as the digestive system works against the biological clock for the food assimilation. Because of this people experience gastric problems like acidity, chest burn, and stomach burn burps, and many other digestive problems

Weight Gain: Improper food and late consumption of food, can be one of the main reasons for weight gain, as our digestion process is sluggish during the night. Late night dinner doesn’t help in calorie control, which further leads to a slower metabolic system and the result is weight gain.

Sleeplessness: People who eat their dinner very late also suffer from insomnia or sleeplessness. Again, the reason could be gastric problems like gas, acidity, and sour belching.

Chances ofDiabetes and High Blood Pressureincreases:

Late night dinner or munching leads to digestion-related problems which in turn affects the insulin and cholesterol levels in our body. If the habit of untimely dinner is persistent, one can experience high blood pressure or even elevated sugar levels which can lead to Diabetes.

Dinner Plan and Timings

Divya told us that nighttime meals should always be light and easy to digest. The ideal time for a night meal is actually evening around 6.30 PM, but at least before 8 PM, one must finish their dinner. This helps the digestion process and also one can maintain the gap between Dinner time and sleep time.

The night meal should consist of low-carb food items, and it should be light in nature, which means no oily and spicy food. Include cereals, pulses, and green leafy vegetables, in Dinner preparations. One can also make salads, soups, Khichdi, Dalia, and even rice and wheat roti for dinner. If you are including rice and roti in your dinner, portion control is the key to good digestion here.

Divya further adds that due to night shifts or for any other reason, if a person is forced to eat late in the night, fibrous food should be consumed in good quantities. This will help in the digestion process.

Reduce Salt Intake

Salt helps in water retention in our body, so in such a scenario if food with excess salt is consumed late at the night, this could damage blood vessels and can further lead to heart problems. It is recommended by health experts to consume food with less salt especially at night times.