Is eating late at night bad for your health?

©AFP / Ludovic Marin

Atlantico: What are the main disadvantages of eating late at night?

Beatrice de Renal: While we are active during the day, we know that night is for rest. While sleeping, we do not know that, in fact, our body continues to “work”: certainly, our muscles work less, but our brain rearranges its day and also, from previous days, your heart, your lungs, liver , kidneys… in short, all work. If, in addition, you have a big dinner – it is traditionally the family meal of the day, sometimes there is only one, then in addition, your digestive system must work more than during the day.

Then we can understand that the night will not be completely comfortable. In this sense, yes, heavy and late dinner is not good for your health.

Ideally, we should eat a king’s breakfast, a prince’s lunch and a pauper’s dinner. Yes, but here it is: family is essential.

Can this cause heartburn, sleep problems etc.?

Yes, all that and more, it all depends on each person, what you ate and the time between eating and sleeping. But let’s not compare ourselves to the Anglo-Saxons who are used to snacking after dinner: a cup of cocoa (hot chocolate) or chocolate for the English, ice cream, chocolate or sweet treats and fat in the USA…

Scientific research has focused on the long-term health consequences of eating late at night. A study has just highlighted this: this consumption more often leads to heartburn, or difficulty falling asleep or unpleasant insomnia.

Is eating late at night really bad for your health? Can this practice really lead to being overweight, obese, suffering from diabetes and endangering your health?

Yes, and it is especially overweight that threatens. By eating too much, and staying too late in the evening, and not being able to use all this energy, it will of course be stored overnight. And in the morning, when you wake up you will feel a little hungry and therefore have a hard time finding the balance between the motivation brought by breakfast and the blood sugar levels that now do not know if they will go down or up.

We can assume that it is the same for adults.

What are the best tips to adopt in the evening from breakfast or not to be hungry? Should you adapt the content of your meals if you eat late?

The best way to combine family meals with a balanced diet is to have a good dinner, but one that is low in fat and sugar. It’s also an opportunity to offer your family foods they don’t eat during the day: fruits and vegetables (a good soup, a good salad), maybe even calcium (ideally, 2 servings of dairy products are needed at every age). But skip the meat (the PNNS recommends eating fish or meat only once a day: hence the “vegetarian” meal).

Avoid fried foods, cold meats, sauces, pastries and sweets. Save dessert for breakfast, food on the go!