How to blame for a heavy dinnerMost families put more efforts to make a decent supper than other meals because it is the only time that the whole family can sit together to enjoy the meal. Have you ever thought that a heavy dinner on a regular basis is likely going to increase your waistline and shorten your lifespan?

Your meal schedule should be just as crucial as what you eat. Therefore, you could be fueling the danger of a heart attack, diabetes, and other diseases by eating the wrong foods after 8 pm in the evening. A heavy dinner late at night is putting lots of people at risk of strokes, and heart attacks, researchers advise. A late-night meal keeps your body on a high alert when it must be winding down. Heart professionals advised that adults should not eat within 2 hours before bedtime – ideally nothing after 8 pm. In a healthy individual, the blood pressure drops by at least 10% when they go to sleep.

Based on the statistics, here are some shocking facts about what a heavy dinner that is high in animal protein and fat can do to your health.

  1. It contributes to 90% of overweight and obesity.
  2. It can lead you to diabetes because obesity is one of the main causes of type II diabetes. Your pancreas is working overtime at night when it should take a break, no wonder it will be on strike.
  3. It is linked to the increased risk of kidney stones. The calcium released from the body deposits in the urinary tract and bladder and your body is not able to discharge them through the urine on time at night, as time goes by, more and more calcium deposits in the urinary tract and forms the stones.
  4. The relationship between the types of food consumed and the time of evening meals displays that a late heavy meal at night has the largest single effect on the overnight blood pressure. Recent research suggested eating late at night had a far greater impact than missing the first meal of the day.
  5. What is the link between a fatty liver and a heavy dinner? A dinner that is high in fat and high in sugar has no place to burn the energy but converts to fat and deposits in your liver because you are not physically active at night.
  6. Surprisingly enough, if you have a habit to enjoy a large and heavy meal at dinner, you are forcing your digestive system to work overtime, and your brain is not getting enough blood supply because the blood concentrates in your stomach for digestion. As a result, it will speed up the aging process of your brain cells. According to studies, those young people who like to consume a large heavy dinner on a regular basis will have more chances to develop dementia or Alzheimer’s disease later on.
  7. Your sleep quality will also be compromised by a heavy dinner. Professionals suggested that eating dinner late at night leaves the body on a high alert, which supports the production of stress hormones such as cortisol while this might also disturb the circadian rhythms. If you eat a heavy meal late at night, the body crucially stays on a high alert throughout the day. Your body has to work very hard to digest those nutrients at night; as a result, your digestive system constantly conveys the messages to your brain. Your brain is restless at night and how can you sleep? This may also be the fact those people who ate late at night tend to skip breakfast. 
  8. Researchers also found that people who eat late supper are more likely to suffer from the ‘non-dipper hypertension,’ which is a lethal form of high blood pressure where the pressure fails to drop accordingly overnight. According to a study, a total of 24% of the individuals who ate supper within 2 hours before going to bed experienced high blood pressure that didn’t drop adequately overnight, compared with 14% of those who ate their meals ahead of time.
  9. Eating a heavy dinner on a regular basis does not just add calories, but it may also trigger a heart attack, particularly in individuals who already have heart diseases. A recent study reveals a connection between eating dinner late at night and a lethal form of high blood pressure that can trigger heart attacks.

What kind of food will benefit your heart function and slow down the aging process? Read the super-charged anti-aging diet.

Who to blame for a heavy dinner?

Eating Breakfast is Crucial

Did you know that skipping breakfast also makes a person more likely to clean the plate at dinner? A healthy and well-balanced diet means eating a decent amount of breakfast and lunch with sound nutrition; however, controlling the last meal of the day to a light meal, preferably no later than 8 o’clock in the evening. Hypertension is one of the major risks of heart disease. Furthermore, in 40% of cases, hypertension fails to drop properly overnight, which increases the risk of heart attacks. When the blood pressure remains increased at night, it puts you at a high risk of heart attacks and heart diseases.

What kind of Foods to Avoid Before Bedtime

Gastric reflux is very common for people who eat late at night. In order to protect your esophagus and reduce gastric reflux, you should avoid these food items.

COFFEE

CoffeeCoffee is not acidic itself, but it is the caffeine it contains that generates extra stomach acid. A bowl of warm homemade soup, a banana, and a cup of chamomile tea can be very soothing to fill you up and settle your stomach.

ACIDIC JUICES

CitrusA glass of orange juice may be one of your worst options at bedtime if you suffer from stomach upset.

NUTS

NutsWhen we talk about gastric reflux, fatty food such as nuts can cause delayed gastric emptying, which increases the risk of gastric reflux.

CHEESE

CheeseCheese is another fatty food you should avoid eating before bedtime. Dairy products are inflammatory to the gut.

CHOCOLATE

ChocolateMost chocolates contain a high amount of fat, which can make gastric reflux even worse.

SOFT DRINKS

Soft drinksIn case you didn’t know yet, soft drinks can increase the gastric production in your stomach. The increased acidity in your esophagus can cause permanent damage to your esophagus. Furthermore, carbonation raises stomach pressure.

ALCOHOL

AlcoholAlcohol relaxes your valve – the lower esophageal sphincter, which connects the esophagus and stomach. When this occurs, the body is not able to keep the food down in the stomach.

Ideal foodYou may wonder what kind of food is ideal for a light supper, here are a few examples: a bowl of warm soup, a healthy homemade salad filled with leafy greens…the rule is to avoid a large portion, limit high fat, high protein, and high sugar content foods and focus on a plant-based diet. Here is the good news, you don’t need to waste so much time preparing a large dinner, you can use this time to do what you love to do, such as watching a movie or strolling on the beach, life is more enjoyable when we don’t have to cook all day long, don’t you agree?

Ideal foodHere is more information on how a plant-based diet can benefit your health.

What are your ideas for a delicious and healthy meal for dinner? Please share with us.

How to use hypnosis to reduce food cravings and establish a healthy eating habit? Please check our hypnosis recording: Stop Overeating and Night Eating Habits. This hypnosis recording uses powerful brainwave technology and embeds the hypnosis recording in alpha brainwave background music, along with advanced hypnosis techniques such as metaphor and Post Hypnotic Suggestions. It helps you get rid of overeating and night-eating habits quickly!

“All that man needs for good health and healing can be found in nature, it is the job of science to find it.” ~ Paracelsus, Father of Pharmacology

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About the author: Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu

As a Holistic Health Practitioner, Registered Dietitian, TCM Practitioner, Energy Healer, Master Hypnotist, Reiki Master, Advanced Theta Healing Practitioner, Author and Speaker, Lucy Liu, the founder of optimalhealthsolutions.ca, has gained a good reputation in holistic health after many years of serving patients and clients as a holistic health practitioner. Lucy has developed a unique and comprehensive approach, which combines Western Medicine, Chinese Medicine, Energy Medicine, and Alternative Medicine together, to help others achieve optimal health by creating harmony between the body, mind, and spirit, and maintain long-term success for healthy lifestyle changes.
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