Work overtime and immersively playing on your phone to watch videos. For many people, staying up late has become the norm in life. What follows is that it is late at night and hungry. Have you also been struggling with reason and emotions countless times: "Do you want to have some midnight snack?"
photo gallery copyright pictures, not authorized to reprint
In addition to "eating midnight snack", there is another question about dinner: many people, especially girls, choose not to eat dinner in order to quickly become thinner.
Recently, there is also a kind of "16+8 weight loss method" that claims to be able to lose 10 kilograms per month" is very popular. People who choose this weight loss method usually eat between 9 am and 5 pm and are hungry at night. Which of these choices is healthier?
01
Is it really bad to eat midnight snack before going to bed?
Many people say that eating midnight snacks before going to bed is not good, and the most common reason is that they will gain weight. In fact, gaining weight in has nothing to do with eating midnight snacks itself .
The reason why you gain weight is because the calories you consume exceed your body's needs, and the excess calories are all turned into fat and applied to your stomach, buttocks, and thighs. Therefore, as long as the calories you consume less than your body needs, you will not gain weight .
If you have been hungry for a long time before going to bed, you are hungry and your mind is no longer rotating, and you are obviously lacking in energy, wouldn’t it be nice to have some midnight snack? Nowadays, many white-collar workers and students have to work overtime at night and sleep late. They are hungry after 10 o'clock. Can they not eat some?
photo gallery copyright picture, reprinting without authorization
For people who lose weight, they often eat less at once when they first lose weight, and it is inevitable that they will feel hungry at night. In fact, eating a little bit appropriately and slowly reducing their appetite is not bad. On the contrary, if you eat very full and have a high energy intake, you will gain weight even if you don’t eat midnight snacks; if you eat some midnight snacks, you will only gain weight.
Of course, we cannot eat midnight snacks without any scruples. Because eating midnight snacks at night, especially too late may also lead to some diseases. There is a disease that causes eating too much at night, called "night eating syndrome) ".
These patients have no appetite in the morning and do not want to eat, but they have a strong appetite at night. The energy intake after dinner accounts for more than 50% of the day. They often get up at night to steal snacks (more than 3 times a week, lasting for more than 3 months). Their energy intake is much higher than that of ordinary people and has a high incidence of obesity.
02
Will "sleep when hungry" be healthier?
In fact, if you really don’t eat supper at all, “sleeping in hunger” will also cause harm to your body .
is the most direct and obvious thing - hunger.
After all, the energy and nutrition our human body needs every day are similar. If you don’t eat a certain meal or eat too much at other times, it will definitely not be enough and will slowly be exhausted.
If you don’t eat supper directly and simply, other living habits will remain the same as usual, and malnutrition will occur if you continue to do so. For example, , you may feel listless, physically exhausted, depressed, and dull face... These are all manifestations of malnutrition . (Also hungry.)
photo gallery copyright picture, unauthorized reprint
. Some people with special diseases, not eating supper will have a greater impact on them. For example, patients with digestive tract ulcers may cause digestive tract ulcers to worsen ; and some people who work during special periods (such as three shifts and and night shifts), if they don’t eat at night, they cannot get the energy source for continuous smooth work.
Generally speaking, there are only two types of people who can stop eating dinner and "sleep on hungry":
1) People who eat a lot of people before dinner
If you have a meal with friends for lunch and eat a lot of big fish and meat, or eat a buffet to make a buffet, to make a lot of money, or to eat a lot of snacks, fruits, potato chips, biscuits and other snacks in the afternoon, and don't exercise at night, so you can stay at home to watch a show and prepare to go to bed, then you can ignore this dinner today.
2) People who want to control their weight
If you have a higher weight, you even reach the "obesity" line (BMI>28) , you need to properly control your diet and limit your energy intake. You can avoid eating one or two dinners at the beginning of weight control.
03
Is the "16+8 weight loss method" healthy?
In fact, this is also a way to lose weight by fasting, which is similar to " light fasting " and "5:2 intermittent fasting". If you strictly insist on fasting , you can see the weight loss effect because it helps you reduce your energy intake. To put it bluntly, allows you to limit your diet and eat less .
However, fasting is not a recommended way. There is currently no authoritative health agency that recommends fasting to people to lose weight.
If you have long-term fasting to lose weight, side effects are likely to occur. Due to the insufficient supply of carbohydrate , will bring a strong sense of hunger and mental health. In severe cases, it will affect study, work and even daily life. It may also cause malnutrition, dizziness, headache, irritability and anxiety, sleepiness during the day, and insomnia at night, and other problems, which may also rebound easily.
photo gallery copyright picture, no authorization to reprint
If you are a big fish and meat on weekdays, are not good at restraint, are obese, have too big waist circumference, suffer from high blood lipids and fatty liver, you can also use the method of fasting to lose weight. If you don’t eat too much on weekdays, lack meat, eggs and milk, are afraid of cold, have indigestion, and are malnourished, then you must never eat fasting to lose weight.
In the long run, the fundamental path to to lose weight is to control the balance of total energy and maintain the vitality of the body.
04
How to eat midnight snack healthily?
From a health perspective, we should try our best to to arrange our three meals a day regularly. Don’t ignore dinner and “sleep when you are hungry”, but you should not eat too much late supper.
If you want to have late-night snacks, it is recommended to try:
1. Eat late-night snacks 1-2 hours before going to bed
Do not eat a lot of food before going to bed, as it can easily affect your sleep, resulting in poor sleep and poor mental health the next day. It is recommended to have a midnight snack 1-2 hours before going to bed. For example, if you plan to go to bed at around 11 o'clock, you will finish your midnight snack before 9:30.
2. Try to choose light and healthy foods
Many people like to eat instant noodles, biscuit cakes, barbecue, and fried chicken for lunch, but they are basically high-fat, high-salt and high-sugar foods, which are not good for health and are not suitable for lunch.
In addition, late-night snacks are not suitable for eating exciting and exciting condiments such as chili peppers and peppers . It is recommended to give priority to fruits, cereals, beans and milk. These foods are low in protein and have low protein and fat content, and are easier to digest and absorb, and will not add burden to the gastrointestinal tract.
References:
[1]Xie, Z., Sun, Y., Ye, Y. et al. Randomized controlled trial for time-restricted eating in healthy volunteers without obesity. Nat Commun 13, 1003 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28662-5
[2]Ulgherait, M., Midoun, A.M., Park, S.J. et al. Circadian autophagy drives iTRF-mediated longevity. Nature 598, 353–358 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03934-0
[3]Murakami, K. and M.B. Livingstone, Associations between meal and snack frequency and overweight and abdominal obesity in US children and adolescents from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2012. Br J Nutr, 2016. 115(10): p. 1819-29.
[4]Kahleova, H., et al., Eating two larger meals a day (breakfast and lunch) is more effective than six smaller meals in a reduced-energy regimen for patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomised crossover study. Diabetology, 2014. 57(8): p. 1552-60.
[5]Fothergill E, Guo J, et al., Persistent metabolic adaptation 6 years after “The Biggest Loser” competition. Obesity (Silver Spring), 2016 May.
[6] Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents2022
Author｜Ruan Guangfeng Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center Director of Science and Technology Department
Review｜Han Hongwei Researcher at the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center
The cover image and pictures in this article are from the copyright library
Image content reprinted without authorization
Picture text reprint please reply in the background "reprint"
