Is it bad to eat at night: debunking a popular nutrition myth

The myth that it's bad to eat at night has caused millions of women to starve. A hard bargain with conscience lay in at the door of the refrigerator: to starve or to get fat? The question was exactly that. After all, articles on the Internet and unfortunate nutritionists on TV on television have been broadcasting in one voice for several decades: "You can't eat at night, it's strictly forbidden!"

Science is called upon to bring people the light of knowledge, and this light for many — refrigerator light bulb in the twilight. Yes, scientists and nutritionists say that it's not so scary. However, the issue needs to be dealt with in more detail. What are the consequences for those who like to eat at night? Why has this statement become so popular? Have we all been wrong all this time and starved ourselves for nothing? Let's figure it out now.

• What is the basis of the myth about the harm of eating at night
• Is it bad to eat at at night: we destroy the myth of "slow" stomach
• Consequences of the myth: not eating at night is much more harmful
• Basic Rules: How to eat night and not get fat

What is the basis of the myth about the dangers of eating at night

We would be cunning if we would call this idea a 100% delusion, which is not based on anything. In fact, the  opponents of "night eater" have an argument. The point is that in order to maintain good shape and normal functioning of the body, we need to eat when hunger arises. The golden rule of a healthy diet: calculate the calorie rate, and then eat a little less than you expend energy.

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What happens at night? At at night, people very often eat not because they want to eat, that they are hungry, but for other reasons. There may be several of these reasons:

• A habit. A person is used to eating at at night, there is not worth looking for any logic here. Even if he has had a hearty supper, his hands are still reaching for the refrigerator. So he is calmer and more pleasant, what can you do.

• For pleasure. It is at night that people tend to eat more for pleasure than for satiety. This is probably why nighttime snacks are so tempting: finally, you can stop thinking about hunger, don't eat everything hastily in the office or in breaks between going to work and shopping shops. At night there is time to enjoy the taste of food.

• Leisure with  traditional snacking. Late in the evening and at night, people also eat because they are doing things that involve eating. For example, they watch a movie or sit at a computer. A bit of a serial can take more than one daily calorie intake.

It is these circumstances that lead to the fact that at night a person really greatly exceeds his calorie intake, overeats, and as a result — gaining weight.

Is it harmful to eat at night: we destroy the myth of "slow" stomach

However, the proponents of the myth do not calm down and talk about some special conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, which allegedly do not allow digestion of food. As if the stomach understands that it has become dark on the street, which means that it is time to do nothing. If our body really adhered to such logic, then people would die on the second day after birth. Survived the day, went to bed, all organs stopped their work. Funny and scary at the same time.

Yes, the processes in the body do indeed slow down a little, but far from everything. Nothing in  the body freezes and does pause. Intestinal peristalsis, for example, is much more active at night than during the day.

Modern research and authoritative nutritionists unanimously say that nothing happens in the body at night to prevent it from digesting the food eaten the day before.

There is also no evidence that nighttime calories have any magical "fat potential." Such a statement is contrary to common sense — Calories always give us the same amount of energy. There are no special hours, special dates or correct constellations in the sky, during which, calories either lead to weight loss or double fat stores.

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Consequences of the myth: not eating at night is much more harmful

Some people continue to stick to the no-eat-after-6 rule. This is the subject of a separate discussion, but the situation is similar to the one we discuss in this article. A person artificially sets limits for himself, which do not have any logical and scientific basis. He sets himself a ban. And we all know what forbidden fruit tastes — sweeter than high-calorie honey. And two scenarios are possible here:

• A person torments himself with hunger, spends a remarkable amount of willpower on fighting the desire to eat at night.

• He eats at night even more actively than other people who do not forbid it to themselves. He only feels guilty, reproaches himself for his misconduct. At the same time hurting himself from two fronts — physically and mentally. From weight point of view — he gets fat because he eats too much. In including due to the stress of a strict ban. A c psychological point of view — destroys his self-esteem, tormenting himself with thoughts like: “Again I’m breaking down, yes, what a” weak-willed creature!

In generally, the situation from all sides is unpleasant and unhealthy     of peace of mind.

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Basic Rules: How to eat night and not get fat

With full confidence we tell you: you can eat at night so that it doesn not affect your weight. You can safely remove stupid restrictions from yourself. Remember the main rule: the nightly diet should fit into your calorie intake. Then the hours won't matter. When ever you ate food that is included in a normal amount for a day — it will not lead to weight gain.

The usual math applies here: if you eat less calories — you lose weight. If you eat as many calories as you expend — stay at your weight. And if           s stable  it it makes no difference at what time of day to do it. If you "honestly" go to bed hungry, and then wake up early in the morning and eat a whole cake — hardly feats of the night can be put in offset.

So, count the norm for the day, build a diet around it, enter snacks at at at night if you are used to it and love this business. And don't listen to unfortunate experts who are ready to hang on you another myth about weight loss and gaining weight.

Read also: Myths about weight loss: give up them if you want to stay healthy

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