The time of your dinner is very important for your health. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and dinner should be eaten no later than 8pm. The following are some of the reasons why you should eat the dinner early.
1) Dinner is the last meal of the day and it usually consists of carbohydrate-rich foods such as rice, pasta, bread and mashed potatoes. Eating dinner at this time leads to increased insulin levels in the body that leads to weight gain.
Eating dinner late at night can have negative consequences for your health. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating this meal at night may lead to increased insulin levels in the body. This, in turn, may result in weight gain and cardiovascular diseases.
2) The natural circadian clock in our bodies stops working when we eat at night and this leads to disrupted sleep patterns.
We are creatures of habit. Our natural circadian clock in our body relies on the natural light to regulate our sleep patterns. When we eat late at night, the light from our screens can trick us into thinking it is daytime, which disrupts the natural circadian clock in our body that regulates our sleep patterns.
3) Eating too late prevents us from burning calories during physical activity which can lead to obesity
Eating late at night is bad for your health. Eating too close to bedtime can lead to weight gain or even obesity. This is because it decreases the body’s ability to burn calories during physical activity. Furthermore, it disrupts the body’s natural circadian rhythm which can cause sleep disorders, anxiety, depression and more.
4) We get tempted by unhealthy food choices when we are tired or hungry which causes weight gain
Researchers have found that when we are tired or hungry, we are more likely to make unhealthy food choices. They also found that people who have a full stomach and healthy eating habits have a lower risk of overeating.
5) Late dinners lead to more snacking during nighttime.
Late dinners can lead to more snacking during nighttime. Recent studies show that eating later in the day and closer to bedtime may lead to an increased risk of obesity and weight gain.
What To Consider When Choosing Healthy Meal for Dinner
It is always a good idea to make sure that we make healthy dinner choices as often as possible. When we dine out, it is not always easy for us to order a healthy meal. Sometimes the menus are not labelled and there might be some unhealthy options on the menu.
Here are some of the factors that we should consider when making healthy dinner choices:
– The first thing that we should look for is calorie content. We should look for a meal with around 500-700 calories per meal
– Next, we should try to choose a dish with low saturated fat.
– Try to avoid meals with high sugar content – less than 25g sugar per 100g of carbs or less than 5g of sugar per 100ml of drinks.
What are the best foods to eat for dinner?
Some of the top best foods to eat for dinner include Stuffed chicken breast, with a side of vegetables and rice, grilled salmon, with a side of sweet potatoes and asparagus, Turkey burger, on with lettuce and tomato and avocado, lentils and brown rice, vegetarian burrito, black beans with rice, avocado toast, veggie pasta, an omelet, and baked apples.
Conclusion
It is always a good idea to make sure that we make healthy dinner choices as often as possible. While we want to enjoy the best of our meals during dinner time, it is important to serve at the right time as we have discussed.
