In the last articles, we explained the importance of having dinner and how to make our dinner healthy. In this article, we’re going to say more about early dinner and its benefits.
The health benefits of having an early dinner do not result only in weight loss. There are other health benefits too. It helps you to lead a better lifestyle. So, if you have been following a late-night dinner all this while, it is time to start afresh and begin a healthier one. The best way to start is by having an early dinner.
Here are some of the health benefits of having an early dinner:
1. Weight control
During later evening hours, people tend to eat high-calorie, low-nutrient foods that are easy to overeat, says Mary Flynn, a research dietitian at the Miriam Hospital, in Providence, Rhode Island. And if you skip meals earlier in the day or delay dinner, you’re more likely to eat excessively in response to intense hunger.
If you want to keep your weight under control, it is best to have an early dinner. You can eat what you like, even if it’s high in calories. Post dinner, take a walk to burn the excess calories that you have consumed. It is one of the health benefits of having an early dinner.
2. No heartburn
Heartburn is a tight or burning sensation in your chest, just behind your breastbone, that may worsen when you bend over or lie done.
There are a lot of people who go to bed right after dinner since their mealtime crosses their sleep schedule. Following this form of lifestyle will lead to a lot of heartburn making you uncomfortable and losing out on sleep.
Eating earlier allows your body time to digest food properly and lowers the risk of acidic stomach contents rising back up into your esophagus. This occurrence, also known as acid reflux, often accompanies heartburn. Lying down after eating makes heartburn worse, so leaving time between dinner and bedtime helps prevent it.
3. More energy
Postponing meals can zap your energy, leaving you with low blood sugar, exhaustion, low mood, and a hefty appetite. To avoid these risks, aim for balanced meals and snacks at regular time intervals. Better sleep derived from earlier dinners also promotes positive daytime energy, making it easier to exercise and manage your weight. These attributes also play an important role in maintaining optimum energy levels.
4. feel light
Feeling light on the stomach with no bloating pain is one of the health benefits of having an early dinner.
5. Early start
Having an early dinner and going to bed soon gives you a chance to wake up early to a brand-new start. You can also exercise well in the morning if you have had an early dinner.
6. Better sleep
Heartburn caused by eating near bedtime can interfere with restful sleep. Eating late — particularly large amounts — can also interfere with sleep by causing abdominal discomfort. Consuming too many liquids before bed, in the form of milk, juice, soup, or other foods can cause frequent waking to relieve your bladder.
So, having an early dinner can prevent you from sleeping late, thus allowing you to have a scheduled amount of sleep.
7. More time for digestion
One of the most important health benefits of having an early dinner is that it provides more room for digestion, no matter how heavy your meal is.
8. A good intake of food
One of the health benefits of having an early dinner is the process of allowing your mind to think of consuming only good food rich in proteins and nutrients. You will even have time for dessert when you have an early dinner.
9. Heart health
Eating early dinner reduces the risk of heart disease. When we eat late our tendency to eat more will increase. And when these calories are not burnt off, they are turned into triglycerides increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke as well.
10. Reduce the risk of cancer
A cancer study shows early dinner helps to reduce the risk of cancer. The diners who have their dinner at least two hours before bed have reduced cancer risk. 26% of males reduced their prostate cancer and 6% of females reduced their breast cancer.
11. Reduce the risk of diabetes
If our body can use insulin properly the risk of diabetes can be reduced. Having our dinner early can give our body the chance to utilize insulin properly and convert our consumed food to glucose.
12. Helpful for the excretory system
Early dinner helps you to get relief from constipation. If you have your dinner early and have a gap between your dinner and bedtime your digestive system functions properly. A proper digestive system helps you to get relief from constipation.
4 tips to have an early dinner:
1. Choose a lighter menu for dinner
Don’t bother yourself, if you prepare an easy dinner, you have time to eat it early.
2. Freeze the cooked dinner
Although it’s not correct to eat frozen food but sometimes you don’t have time for making dinner, it’s not a bad idea to freeze your last night’s food.
3. Plan what you want to cook for dinner:
If you know what food you want to cook and how much time you need to prepare it, you can schedule your time to prepare dinner soon and eat early.
4. Don’t eat heavy snacks near dinner-time:
By avoiding eating a snack before dinner, you are more interested to eat your dinner early because you are hungrier.