Graphics: Channing Smith. Photos: Getty Images.
What time should you eat? It depends on who you ask, and probably where you live.
This question occurred to me when I was trying to make a dinner reservation for my upcoming trip to Barcelona. A travel blog reminded me that in Spain, dinner is between 9:00 and 11:00 p.m.; not 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. as I was trying to book.
Although my preference for dinner makes it sound like I’m visiting from a retirement home in Florida, I’m actually a millennial who’s lived in New York City for 12 years. I’ve joined the camp of people who believe the best time for dinner is between 5:00 and 6:30 p.m. I like to eat dinner no later than 7:15 p.m.
Unfortunately, my target audience has not yet embraced this lifestyle and the only people, besides my husband, who are willing to have dinner with me during the day are my grandparents and people who have just returned from a trip and are suffering from jet lag.
Aside from my personal preference, it turns out there are real health benefits to eating early. First, you can take a walk after eating, which can help balance blood sugar.
Eating early gives you plenty of time to enjoy a sweet treat before bed (I actually can’t sleep without my evening Yasso bar.)
Here’s everything dietitians recommend for dinner, including when to eat and why, the truth about midnight snacking, and what foods to avoid before bed. You’ll also find some photos of my own early dinners for inspiration.
What time do you have to eat dinner?
What’s the verdict? Well, it really depends on your daily routine. “Ideally, you should eat dinner at least three hours before bedtime,” says Sara Riehm, RD, LD/N, CSOWM, a registered dietitian at Orlando Health Center for Health Improvement. “This allows our meals to align with our circadian rhythm cycles and allows our food to be properly digested.”
To find your new normal for eating, you also need a consistent bedtime. “It’s important to get into a regular sleep schedule with adequate rest time, ideally at least seven hours of sleep per night,” says Riehm. “Then count back at least three hours from that bedtime. This should be your last meal.”
What are the benefits of dining early?
“Eating at least two to three hours before bed can help with better sleep and digestion,” says Samantha Cochrane, RD, a registered dietitian and nutritionist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “Digestion can actually keep you awake if you eat too close to bedtime, and eating earlier can prevent acid reflux or indigestion.”
There is also research that shows that there are benefits to allowing our bodies to ‘fast’ overnight. Cochrane explains that there are also benefits to following the natural pattern of a nightly ‘fast’. “This doesn’t mean skipping meals or restricting eating to certain times, but not eating a few hours before bed and during the night can give our digestive system a break,” says Cochrane. “This break can result in benefits for metabolism, digestion and sleep.”
Eating too late can also negatively impact blood sugar levels, Riehm adds. “As the body prepares to rest, our insulin sensitivity decreases, meaning we don’t respond as well to the insulin our body produces, which negatively impacts blood sugar levels and increases the risk of diabetes if it happens often enough,” she explains. “When our eating doesn’t align with our normal circadian rhythm, which is sometimes called ‘eating lag,’ it can increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Is Eating Late Night Bad For You?
Before you panic about your eating habits, know that occasionally eating right before bed won’t cause any serious harm. “Just as one ‘ideal’ day won’t change your health forever, neither will one ‘bad’ day,” says Riehm.
It can also change how hungry you feel before breakfast in the morning, she says. “Breakfast can be important for balancing hunger and energy throughout the day. Without a hunger cue to remind you to eat soon after waking up, skipping breakfast can mean more fatigue and larger portions or more frequent meals and snacks as the day goes on.”
Can Eating an Early Dinner Help You Lose Weight?
“More research is needed to determine exactly how this happens, but current research shows that people who eat earlier in the day may lose more weight than people who eat later in the day,” Riehm says. “Adjusting our eating window to earlier in the day better aligns with the body’s natural hormone fluctuations that occur during our circadian rhythm. So don’t skip breakfast.”
Additionally, the National Weight Control Registry, a research study that follows more than 10,000 people who have lost at least 30 pounds and maintained their weight loss for at least a year, has found that eating breakfast is an important habit for maintaining weight loss, Riehm says.
Is it okay to have a snack in the evening?
While I love an early dinner, I may love my evening snack even more. Luckily, it’s dietitian approved.
“I wouldn’t recommend having a snack before bed if you don’t need one, but if you’re hungry, you can do that without stress,” says Riehm. “I always recommend eating when you’re hungry, no matter what time of day it is. It’s important not to restrict your intake when you’re hungry. Hunger is our body’s way of telling us that we need energy and fuel, and we need to respect that cue.”
That said, if it’s late, Riehm and Cochrane recommend snacking on snacks that are high in protein and fiber. Some of their suggestions include trail mix, yogurt, fruit, peanut butter, and carrot sticks with hummus.
What foods should you avoid before bed?
According to Riehm, it’s best to avoid meals with large portions of carbohydrates right before bed. “Because our insulin sensitivity — how well our body responds to the hormone insulin and therefore uses the glucose from the carbohydrates we consume — decreases as we prepare to rest, those carbohydrates are not used well by the body,” she explains. “This can be especially concerning if you already have insulin resistance, prediabetes, or diabetes.”
Cochrane advises against any meal that makes you feel ‘too full’ or that could cause heartburn, such as spicy foods, fatty foods, caffeine and chocolate.
Danielle Sinay is the associate beauty editor at Enchanting. Follow her on Instagram @daniellesinay.
Originally published on Glamour
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