Many city dwellers, after a busy day, sometimes have a very casual dinner at home. So, how can one have a healthy dinner? First, let's understand the taboos of dinner: eating dinner too late can increase the risk of developing stones; eating too much for dinner can affect sleep; and eating a dinner that is too rich in meat can increase the risk of cancer.
Taboo 1: Eating Dinner Too Late: Eat Dinner Early to Avoid Stones
Eating dinner early is a healthy measure recommended by medical experts. Relevant studies have shown that eating dinner early can significantly reduce the incidence rate of urinary tract stones.
The peak time for calcium excretion in the human body is often 4-5 hours after a meal. If dinner is too late, when the peak time for calcium excretion arrives, the person is already in bed. The urine then stagnates in the urinary tract, such as the ureter, bladder, and urethra, and cannot be expelled from the body in a timely manner. This causes calcium in the urine to continuously increase, easily depositing to form small crystals. Over time, these gradually enlarge and form stones. Therefore, having dinner around 6 p.m. is more appropriate.
Taboo 2: Eating Dinner Too Much: A Moderate Dinner Leads to Better Sleep
Compared to breakfast and lunch, dinner should be eaten in smaller amounts.
In the evening, with no other activities, or if the meal is late, eating too much for dinner can cause cholesterol levels to rise, stimulating the liver to produce more low-density and very-low-density lipoproteins, inducing atherosclerosis. Long-term overeating for dinner repeatedly stimulates the large secretion of insulin, which can often lead to the premature failure of pancreatic beta cells, thus laying the groundwork for diabetes.
In addition, an overly full dinner can cause the stomach to expand, putting pressure on surrounding organs. The strenuous work of the stomach, intestines, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas after the meal sends signals to the brain, causing it to become active and spreading to other areas of the cerebral cortex, which can induce insomnia.
Taboo 3: Dinner Too Rich in Meat: A Vegetarian Dinner Can Prevent Cancer
Dinner should definitely be primarily vegetarian, with foods rich in carbohydrates as the main focus, and proteins and fats should be consumed as little as possible.
However, in real life, because most families have ample time to prepare dinner, they eat more lavishly, which is detrimental to health. According to scientific research reports, consuming large amounts of high-protein foods such as meat, eggs, and milk at dinner can increase the amount of calcium in urine. On one hand, this reduces the body's calcium stores, inducing rickets in children, myopia in adolescents, and osteoporosis in middle-aged and older adults. On the other hand, a high concentration of calcium in the urine greatly increases the likelihood of developing urinary tract stones. Furthermore, consuming too much protein that the body cannot absorb will remain in the intestines, where it can spoil and produce toxins like ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, irritating the intestinal wall and inducing cancer.
If you eat too much fat, it can increase blood lipids. Research data shows that people who often eat meat for dinner have blood lipid levels 2-3 times higher than those who eat a vegetarian diet. Carbohydrates can generate more serotonin in the body, which has a calming and sedative effect, and is particularly beneficial for those with insomnia.