- Eating more than 45% of daily calorie intake after 5 p.m. may contribute to higher blood sugar (sugar) levels in older adults with prediabetes or early-onset type 2 diabetes.suggests a recent study.
- Poorly regulated blood sugar levels can contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes, higher cardiovascular risk and chronic inflammation.
- Experts say metabolic and hormonal factors make it important to eat the lightest meal of the day at dinner: fewer carbs, more healthy fats and proteins, and no desserts.
- Consistent, quality sleep will also go a long way in balancing appetite and glucose metabolism, experts say.
As the holidays approach and the epic meals begin, a study recently published in
The study, led by teams from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, and Columbia University, New York, suggests that eating more than 45% of the daily calorie intake after 5 p.m. could be linked to reduced glucose tolerance, particularly in the elderly. with prediabetes or early onset type 2 diabetes.
The previously assumed consequence of late eating was primarily weight gain due to a slower metabolism as we relax and our bodies prepare and engage in sleep.
The new study suggests that regardless of a person’s weight or overall calorie intake, the time of day they eat can have significant consequences on glucose metabolism.
The study classified 26 participants, aged 50 to 75, who were overweight or obese, as well as prediabetes or type 2 diabetes — into two groups: “early eaters” who consumed most of their daily calories before 5 p.m. and “late eaters” who ate 45% or more of their calories after 5 p.m. for 14 days.
The groups consumed a comparable amount of daily calories and macronutrients. However, late eaters consumed almost double the number of calories after 5 p.m., consuming more fat and carbohydrates overall and tending toward higher protein and sugar intake than early eaters.
In oral glucose tolerance testsLate eaters had significantly higher blood sugar levels after 30 and 60 minutes, indicating lower glucose (sugar) tolerance.
This trend held regardless of participants’ body weight and fat mass, their calorie intake and the composition of their diet.
Nate Wood, MDprofessor of medicine and director of culinary medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, told Medical news today that eating later in the day or at night has the ability to add weight to the body due to the simple fact that most people are much less active at night and are not active at all while sleeping.
“We think the problem with eating late at night is that we’re consuming calories at a time when our bodies don’t need them,” Wood told us.
He illustrated this by saying:
“Imagine you eat a few slices of pizza and immediately go to bed. We break down this food into energy (calories), but then we have no immediate use for that energy because we are sleeping and not exercising! So what does our body do with this energy? It stores it for use later when we need it. And how does our body store energy? How big! This is one reason why it is generally recommended to try to eat earlier in the day rather than later.
Pouya Shafipour, MDa board-certified family medicine and obesity physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, who was not involved in the study, explained that the body is much more insulin resistant at night, due to circadian rhythms.
During the day, there is more insulin secretion and increased pancreatic activity, he explained.
“When receptors at the back of the retina sense that light is diminishing, melatonin starts to be secreted by the pituitary gland, then it suppresses the pancreas,” Shafipour said, adding that eating late can be very harmful in the long and short term.
“If you are a night owl and eat late, the risk of insulin resistance is higher, mainly depending on your genetic predisposition. Higher rate of prediabetes, developing diabetes, things like that. And that’s something that we typically see with cemetery people, you know, firefighters, cops, doctors, medical staff who work a lot at night,” he pointed out.
It’s probably not the most popular answer during the holidays, but dinner should ultimately be the lightest meal you eat, Shafipour advised.
This means fewer carbohydrates – therefore avoiding pasta, mashed potatoes, rice – and fewer desserts and alcohol.
“You want your dinner or your last meal to be the lowest-carb, low-simple-carb meal,” Shafipour explained. “So you know it would be something with healthy sources of protein and healthy sources of fat, and maybe a salad. So, optimally, you should avoid desserts, alcohol, any type of refined sugar, white rice, white bread, potatoes, and even a lot of fruit, because fruit also contains fructose sugar.
Because of insulin resistance, he added, there is a daytime window during which these high-carb meals can act on your metabolism.
“The most active period in terms of metabolism is plus and minus an hour between probably 10 a.m. and 4 or 5 p.m.,” Shafipour said.
“So if one wants to optimize his insulin sensitivity, (he) wants to eat (his) higher-carbohydrate meals during that window and then try to wind it down as the sun goes down and have a lighter dinner. And a lighter dinner will help with insulin sensitivity and provide better quality sleep,” he noted.
The balance between sleep and diet is important to find for metabolism and overall health. Because sleep is so important, Wood said a consistent rhythm each night is the most important factor.
“Most adults need 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. Consuming less or more can have negative effects on our health,” Wood emphasized.
“I recommend that patients try to go to bed at the same time every night. This means that if you go to bed at 10 p.m. on weeknights, try to go to bed no later than 10:30 p.m. or 11 p.m. on weekends. The more we can stick to our sleep schedule, the better,” he advised.
Shafipour explained that the hormonal changes that occur during sleep have a significant effect on appetite throughout the day:
“Sleep is also very important in itself because the hormone leptin, which is an appetite suppressant hormone, is secreted and peaks around 6 or 6 and a half hours of sleep. So the optimal sleep schedule for an average adult would be between 7 and 8 hours so that you get enough leptin and ghrelin, which is the appetite hormone that doesn’t stay awake too much during the day. So, if we sleep less than 6.5 hours, we will notice that we are hungrier during the day and that we seek out more food.