Don't Eat These 7 Foods at Night

3 minutes

Eating these 7 foods at night can affect your quality of sleep and even cause acid re-flux and other digestive issues.

Reviewed and approved by the doctor Karla Henríquez.

Last update: 21 September, 2022

The evening meal is one of the main meals of the day. Because of that, it’s not a good idea to ignore it nor replace it with unhealthy foods. Even though it’s true that it should be lighter than other meals, its consumption is key to many processes that support the body during a time of rest.

In fact, nutrients that are obtained at that time of the day influence the quality of sleep, the digestion and the physical and mental energy of the following day.

The problem is that many people don’t know how to choose the correct foods. Due to this, there is an overload in the body that can cause negative issues.

It may seen alright to eat any thing to satisfy hunger before going to bed. Actually, what you eat can cause various metabolic and digestive consequences.

How do you avoid this situation? To begin with, the best way is to know what foods have characteristics that are not the best options to eat at night.

Find out what they are!

1.Pasta

This does not mean that you have to exclude pasta from your diet. Being an important resource of carbohydrates, it’s ideal for active times of day. For example, consuming pasta for lunch is fine.

• Eating pasta in the evening can cause an uncomfortable heavy feeling that can impede being about to rest. At the same time, because of the amount of calories, it can affect metabolism and weight.

Also see: 3 Recipes for Delicious Italian Pasta

2. Ice cream

Eating ice cream for dinner or for night time cravings isn’t exactly a good option. Even though it’s satisfying and delicious, this food is full of saturated fats, sugar and added ingredients that affect weight and quality of sleep.

• Its consumption at this time affects digestion. The result is abdominal bloating and stimulation of the nervous system.
• This interferes with rest because it produces acid re-flux and it elevates glucose levels .

3. Cheese

Cheese, and of course dishes that contain it, should be avoided at all cost before going to bed. Although not harmful, they can cause heaviness in the stomach and problems sleeping.

• Cheese contains tyramine, an amino acid that can decrease the production of hormones that regulate sleep.

• The fats of cheese are heavy for the body to digest and can create an inflammatory reaction in the stomach.

4. Spicy condiments

Spices and salsas have flavors that can give a special touch to dishes. Even though it’s not normally bad to eat them, it’s better to use them in meals other than dinner.

• Spicy foods cause irritation of the mucous membrane in the stomach and increase the tendency to suffer acid-reflux and digestive issues.

• Eating them before going to bed produces acid re-flux, abdominal burning, and stomach pain.

5. Cauliflower

This crispy vegetable is a healthy food low in calories. In spite of its high quality, it’s best not to consume it in the evening due to some of its properties that produce gas.

• Eating it during dinner, and hours before sleeping, makes the digestive process difficult. This is due to its significant content of fats and calories. In fact, it’s recommended to improve cognitive and emotional health.

• This food contains substances that stimulate the nervous system and maintains the brain active.

• Giving a person energy makes sleep difficult and can cause episodes of insomnia.

We recommend the following article: 7 Effects That Dark Chocolate Has on Health

7. Red Meat and Processed Meat

Consumption of red and processed meat should be limited, regardless of the time of day. Even though these foods contain nutrients, their high content of saturated fat and added chemicals don’t make them a good choice for a healthy diet.

• Eating this type of food before going to bed is a big mistake. Its proteins make digestion difficult and can cause sleep problems.

• Due to it’s high calorie content, it slows down metabolism and can cause obesity.

To avoid digestive problems and difficulties in getting rest, it’s best to eat light meals, low in calories. Eating a balanced and healthy diet at this time of day is key to well being.