Eating too late at night is one of those ‘universal’ no-nos like don’t skip breakfast, and eat three meals, and don’t eat before swimming….but in this case research has an answer for you…and in fact some people really shouldn’t eat too late!
In a study at the Center for Genomic Medicine at Mass General Hospital in Boston they looked at eating too late and what happens physiologically.
The conclusion was, in short, that people shouldn’t eat within 2 hours of their bedtime…so depending on your definition of ‘close’ it’s a mom advice maximum that seems to be bearing out in the literature!
Most people have their highest levels of melatonin close to bedtime and that high melatonin level is also associated with decreased insulin which is needed to metabolize your sugar. If you eat too close to bedtime, you won’t be metabolizing your carbohydrates or sugar effectively…long term that even raises diabetes risk.
These researchers also specifically looked at the genetics of melatonin production and found that certain genetic variants are even at more risk of long term diabetes, and thus those individuals should adhere to better eating habits.
