It doesn't matter if you eat dinner late or just have a snack before bed, this habit is harmful for many reasons. Here are 10 of them.
Eating late predisposes to fat storage
Research presented at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans found that overweight people who ate dinner late had a higher body mass index than overweight people who ate dinner early.
Acid Reflux
The risk of heartburn in the esophagus, mouth and burning pain in the chest is greater when you eat late at night. When you go to bed soon after eating in the evening, it is very likely that you will get reflux, which will interfere not only with your sleep, but also with the normal function of the digestive tract.
High blood pressure
Eating late increases blood pressure levels, worsening the condition even in already diagnosed hypertension. In order for the body to cope with the processing of all nutrients, an interval from dinner to the time of falling asleep of at least 4 hours is necessary.
Insomnia
A good night's sleep can be disturbed by a late dinner. Eating before bed can make you toss and turn at night, wake up frequently, have heartburn, or have trouble falling asleep because of the feeling of heaviness.
You encourage emotional eating
To be honest, most people don't dream of munching on carrots or apples late at night. Almost everyone reaches for chocolate or some other treat, especially after a hard day. High-calorie foods are not recommended throughout the day, but late at night they are more than prohibited. By snacking at these hours of the day, we subconsciously encourage emotional eating, and with it, the risk of gaining weight.
Double the calories
You may think that by eating something a little late at night you are not breaking your diet. You've been restricting yourself all day after all. This is not so. Nutrient processing is more difficult late at night because of reduced physical activity and little time left until sleep. This is why you may be inadvertently doubling your calorie intake, which is the root cause of weight gain.
