When it comes to food, when you eat your meal is as important as what's on your plate, according to a recent study published in Circulation , the journal of the American Heart Association (focusing on cardiac care that can reduce heart disease and stroke). And this is particularly true with regard to dinner, the fault of the biological clock – or circadian rhythm – which controls the succession of periods of activity and rest. Located in the brain, this “body metronome” indicates, for example, when it is time to go to bed with signs of fatigue, or when it is time to eat with the feeling of hunger. Eating (too) late at night can then have consequences:having dinner when the clock signals that it is time to sleep can indeed restart the "mini-clocks" of the body's organs, which creates a disruption of the system. . And, we suspect, the body works best when it is coordinated.
And the matter is very serious:scientists estimate that the short and long-term consequences range from weight gain to increased risks of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. So when is it too late for dinner? The studies are divided on the question:some researchers believe that it is necessary to allow 2 hours to pass between a meal and bedtime, others affirm that eating at 6 p.m. provides the most benefits. Another study showed that women who ate at 11 p.m. had poorer blood sugar control the following morning and a higher risk of type 2 diabetes (compared to those who ate dinner at 6 p.m.). Finally, another method is to move dinner as far away as possible from the next breakfast (the fast should ideally last 12 hours minimum), which would allow good weight management.
Last bit of advice for another important meal:the body is better able to digest food earlier in the day, which means that people who eat breakfast are less at risk of weight gain and heart disease. heart than those who skip it. In general, it is therefore necessary to take care to eat earlier in the day. That is what is said! It's never too late to form good habits...
