Among the three meals a day, dinner is the last one. Some people, busy all day, haven't eaten well for the first two meals, so they start to binge-eat at dinner. This is not the right approach. Whether you eat well or correctly at dinner directly determines your health and lifespan, so you must never be careless!
The following six types of food should be eaten less for dinner
Spicy Food
More and more people love to eat spicy food for dinner. Eating too salty and spicy food at night, such as consuming large amounts of spicy foods like chili, garlic, and raw onions, can easily cause a burning sensation in the stomach and lead to problems like gastroesophageal reflux, constipation, dry stools, and indigestion, thus interfering with sleep.
Sticky and Hard Foods
At night, the stomach needs gentle digestion. Foods that are difficult to digest, such as tangyuan, rice cakes, and rice cakes, as well as dry-fried, deep-fried, and other hard foods with little moisture, will directly affect the stomach's function after entering the stomach, making digestive activities abnormally excited and easily causing acute and chronic gastritis and other stomach diseases.
Gas-Producing Foods
Eating foods that produce a lot of gas during digestion at night, such as beans, cabbage, broccoli, green peppers, eggplant, potatoes, taro, corn, bananas, bread, citrus fruits, and beverages and desserts containing xylitol (a sweetener), can cause bloating and interfere with normal sleep.
Leftovers
Many elderly people are afraid of wasting food and always eat leftovers for dinner. Especially high-protein leftover fish and meat can spoil and may lead to bacterial infections, further inducing pancreatic diseases.
Alcoholic Beverages
Drinking alcohol before bed can cause many harmful substances in the alcohol to accumulate in the body, poisoning the body, damaging the retina, reducing resistance, and significantly worsening snoring and sleep apnea syndrome. Therefore, try to avoid drinking alcohol 4-6 hours before bedtime, and minimize evening social engagements as much as possible.
Oily Foods
Oily foods not only include fried foods but also some animal organs with high cholesterol. Eating these foods will increase the burden on the intestines, stomach, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas, stimulate the central nervous system, and affect sleep quality. Especially for people with "high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol," these foods should be strictly controlled.
Five Principles for Dinner
Seventy Percent Full
Seventy percent full should feel like this: the stomach is not yet full, but the enthusiasm for food has diminished, and the speed of active eating has significantly slowed down, yet there's still a habitual desire to eat more. However, if the food is taken away and the topic is changed, you will soon forget about eating.
When you reach seventy percent full, you should put down your chopsticks in time and leave the table to avoid overeating. Using smaller plates and rice bowls for dinner can help control your portion size. Avoid eating while watching TV, as being distracted can easily lead to overeating.
Keep it Light
Dinner must not be a feast of big fish and meat with high oil and high fat. The taste should be light. Many office workers don't have time to eat properly during the day and want to make up for it by eating more at dinner, which is even more harmful to health. For dinner, you can eat a small amount of staple food, add some vegetables and fruits; congee with simple dishes is a good choice. You can also eat a small amount of meat, but fish and lean meat are preferable.
Supplement Nutrients
Dinner is a good time to "check and supplement" the day's nutrition. For example, if you haven't eaten whole grains for breakfast and lunch, you can steam some sweet potatoes or pumpkin at night, or have a bowl of multigrain porridge. If you haven't eaten 500 grams of vegetables, eat more green vegetables for dinner. If you haven't eaten enough soy products during the day, you should supplement them appropriately at night... Remember not to eat indiscriminately; just supplement in moderation.
Don't Eat Too Late
The ancients followed the principle of "not eating after noon," but considering the modern work schedule, it is more appropriate to have dinner between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., and try to keep your meal times regular. Eating dinner too late will increase the digestive burden and affect sleep quality. If office workers need to work overtime, it's best to eat first and then work, or have some biscuits, snacks, etc., during overtime to avoid eating too much for dinner.
Minimize Social Engagements
Chinese people are used to socializing at night. If you can't refuse, you can take a small portion of each dish onto your plate when it's served and stop taking more after you've finished. Or, you can put down your chopsticks and stop eating halfway through the meal, which helps control your food intake. Abroad, more and more people are starting to schedule social gatherings and dinners at noon, and have dinner at home in the evening. This is not only beneficial for maintaining family relationships but also for health, and it is worth promoting.