Are you the one munching away all the leftover food from the refrigerator late at night? Do all the sweet in the fridge, fried chips, candies, etc. haunt and entice you as late night snacks?
Well, if you are a foodie and just can’t control your night cravings, you must read further to know what health hazards you might fall into and how you can avoid it.
As a kid, we all followed a proper timetable for all our activities. With our mothers running after us, we finished our dinner by 7 pm and went to bed by 9 pm. When we were in school all was well. But, what happened after that now when we are all grown up?
We obviously feel old and superior enough to take care of ourselves. But are we really taking care of our health by giving away all the good healthy habits? Take a minute and think about it.
So when was the last time you finished your dinner by 7 pm in spite of knowing the fact it is good for your health and wellbeing. I guess not many of you. It is quite understandable, with changing phases in your life cycle, you surely have other important commitments, work pressure, family and hundreds of things to take care.
But remember out of that many one of the most important thing is your health without which you can’t achieve your other goals in life. So it is still fine if you cannot maintain the 7 pm clock.
You can still eat after that as long as you are really hungry, but remember to maintain at least two hours of gap between your dinner and sleep.
Once you are done with your light dinner that is it! Zip your mouth. You are done eating for the day. You need to make sure you completely avoid all your night snacks and munching.
This is because you have supplied enough amount of calories needed by your body (mostly between 7-9 pm). Then late night snacking because you are highly stressed or sometimes even due to boredom will convert your calories into fat and ultimately weight gain instead choose for good late night snacks.
Problems Due To Late Night Snacking
- Eating late at night messes up your natural hormone cycle.
- It also disturbs your natural digestive process and causes indigestion
Human growth hormone is released in large doses during nights. This hormone helps to repair muscle damage and regulate the body composition. The presence of insulin in your body at night, prevents release of the growth hormone in high amounts. And what spikes your insulin at night? Yes, your food, especially carbs.
But, even if your insulin levels do not spike, when you have more fat than carb, late night snacking still disrupts your natural digestive process. It causes acidity, indigestion and acid re-flux, since you are resting and at the same time using the energy for digestion.
You may also experience heartburn. Hence going to bed with a full stomach is not healthy.
If you are a Gastroesophageal Reflux disease (GERD) patient that is determined by the position of your stomach and esophagus, you are likely to suffer more if you sleep with a full stomach.
With all these, if you don’t stop then choose for healthy night snacks instead of unhealthy food. Especially, when you binge on chips, high fat and carb content, etc.
Moreover, your blood sugar and cholesterol levels also go for a toss. Hence at least for the sake of your good health and weight loss, you must stop eating late at night.
But if you can’t just avoid it and still feel like eating something when you’re under stress or watching T.V, playing cards etc., then here are some tips for you.
Late Night Snacking Tips
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Brushing
Brush your teeth after dinner (not immediately, give at least a gap of 20 min to prevent your enamel from getting damaged). Brushing may discourage you from easy late night snacks before bed time and is also important for dental care and maintaining good oral health.
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Water
Drink enough water after dinner, so you don’t crave for food as much.
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Healthy Snacks
Best late night snacks are to surround yourself with healthy foods. If you have an ice cream in the freezer, you might not be able to resist, your mind is constantly pondering over the ice cream then.
So better don’t have such fancy items in the store. If there are no delicacies that you relish, you might not drive out to get it.
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Green Tea
Drink herbal tea like the beneficial green tea. If you just need to have something while you are watching TV or surfing the web, then try sipping herbal tea to keep your mouth busy and will ruin your late night snack ideas.
So this was all on healthy late night snacks. I hope you have clearly realized what dangers eating late at night can pose to your precious health.
With so many diseases and health problems on the rising front, it has become mandatory for everyone to inculcate good habits and follow a healthy lifestyle. Healthy late night snacks for men are same as for women. Hence take a pledge to stop late night snacking.
Stay Fit, Stay Healthy!
How do you tackle your night cravings for food to avoid putting on weight? Share with us in the comments below!
