It is often said that in order to stay fit, most of the day’s food should be taken in the morning with breakfast and afternoon while less should be eaten at night, but why so? According to Courtney Peterson, Associate Professor of Nutrition at the University of Alabama, UK, people who eat at night gain comparatively more weight and also feel more hungry. Research published in the journal Nutrition suggests that people who have early dinner have better blood glucose, blood pressure is controlled. At the same time, according to the Journal Epidemiology and Health, eating late at night increases the concentration of triglyceride in the blood, which increases the risk of heart disease.
Eating late night harms the body in these ways-
Genes are less active
Eating late at night leads to less activation of the genes that burn calories and respond to fat. They send messages to the brain to store fat, which leads to obesity. Apart from this, due to the ‘thermic effect’, very few calories are burnt. It is the amount of calories that are expended in digesting, absorbing and metabolizing food. The thermic effect is less effective at night.
Circadian rhythm gets disturbed
Eating late at night does not match the circadian rhythm of the body. According to Peterson, our body is designed to do certain things at certain times. Hundreds of years ago, when humans depended on the sun for light and survival, they were most active during the day, while being less active at night. Due to being molded like this for a long time, the body is still active on the basis of sunlight.
Metabolic changes occur
Actually the body needs time to decide when we will eat and when not. According to nutritionist and author Carolyn Williams, the human body is hormonally and metabolically built in such a way that it needs a gap of at least 12 hours between dinner and morning meal. People lived on this pattern when there was no availability of snack food and 24 hour food.
“The body uses a lot of energy stores for growth and repair through the night,” explains dietician Sarah Elder. “Eating a balanced breakfast helps to up our energy, as well as protein and calcium used throughout the night.”
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Does skipping breakfast cause weight gain?
Although many people report increased feelings of satiety after starting their day off with breakfast. Skipping breakfast can disrupt the body’s internal clock and cause weight gain, even if one does not overeat for the rest of the day. Skipping breakfast has been linked with obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, but the precise impact of meal times on the body’s internal clock wasn’t as clear up until now.
Is morning food really the most important meal of the day?
Plenty of studies have been conducted on whether breakfast is necessary. The consensus is yes, breakfast is important and what you choose for breakfast is even more important.
Keep in mind, a study was published a few years ago that breakfasts high in refined sugars. Also carbohydrates can do more damage than good.
Ways to include breakfast in your daily routine
As should be the case when you begin any new habit, start slow and steady. Look at your current breakfast choices to see if there is anything you can substitute for something higher in fiber and protein and lower in sugar. Decide on a few breakfast ideas that will work with your lifestyle, and stock your house with the proper ingredients. Keep breakfast simple when you don’t have a lot of time in the morning. Save the more elaborate breakfasts for the weekends.
most of the day’s food should be taken in the morning and afternoon while less should be eaten at night.