Introduction: Eating late-night snacks has gradually become a habit for many people. However, late-night snacks are not something you can eat whenever you want, nor can you eat whatever you want. So, how should one eat late-night snacks more healthily?
1. Late-night snacks should be easy to digest and light
The food chosen for a late-night snack should be easy to digest. Generally, it's best to opt for light, non-greasy, semi-liquid foods, such as porridge with sliced ingredients, wontons, noodles, dumplings, milk, or cake. Alternatively, you can drink a moderate amount of congee, which is not only easy to digest but also won't add excessive fat and oil. You can add calming ingredients like longan, lotus seeds, lily bulbs, or red dates to your congee, which can also help with sleep.
2. The timing and choice of late-night snacks matter
Workers who often work night shifts have their body clocks disrupted by the reversed time difference, which can throw the body's natural rhythms into chaos. This affects vision, the digestive system, and sleep, and can easily lead to fatigue and difficulty concentrating. Adjusting your diet can, to some extent, compensate for the effects of a disrupted biological clock. Generally, if you continue to work and have not gone to bed 4-5 hours after dinner, you should have a meal, around 11-12 PM, mainly to ensure you have enough energy for your night shift.
By that time, night owls are often desperately looking for something to eat, otherwise, their stomachs will rumble and they won't sleep well. Biscuits, snacks, bread, braised small dishes, and instant noodles become go-to options to fill the stomach. While this satisfies hunger, it's not good for your body.
After 10 PM, the body gradually begins to rest, and various organs start to self-repair. At this time, our digestive function weakens, and our metabolism slows down considerably. If you often eat high-calorie, hard-to-digest foods, it can lead to fatty liver, gastrointestinal diseases, and a significant decline in your physical health, accelerating the aging process.
3. Don't eat too much meat for a late-night snack
People often eat quite well for late-night snacks. Although these meals are nutritious, they raise another issue: how to burn off those nutrients. According to scientific research, consuming large amounts of high-protein foods like meat, eggs, and dairy for a late-night snack can increase the amount of calcium in urine. On one hand, this reduces the body's calcium stores, potentially triggering rickets in children, myopia in adolescents, and osteoporosis in the middle-aged and elderly. On the other hand, high calcium concentration in urine significantly increases the risk of developing urinary tract stones. Moreover, if the body cannot absorb excess protein, it will remain in the intestines, where it can spoil and produce toxins like ammonia, indole, and hydrogen sulfide. These irritate the intestinal wall and can induce cancer. Coupled with alcohol consumption, it becomes even easier to develop "alcoholic fatty liver."
4. Supplement vitamins with your late-night snack
In addition, it's also important to pay special attention to vitamin supplementation. Vitamin A regulates the synthesis of rhodopsin, a light-sensitive substance in the retina. It can help night workers adapt to dim light, prevent visual fatigue, and improve work performance. Vitamin A is found in animal liver, dairy products, eggs, and colored vegetables, so you should eat more foods rich in Vitamin A such as lean meat, fish, pork liver, carrots, bell peppers, mangoes, and pineapples. Vitamin C can help relieve physical fatigue in night shift workers and boost the body's resistance, so it's important to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Night shift workers often lack exposure to sunlight and should also supplement with Vitamin D. Foods rich in Vitamin D include eggs, fish, and dairy products.
5. Don't drink tea after a late-night snack
After eating a late-night snack, some people rinse their mouths and wet their lips, then habitually pick up a strong cup of tea from the table, thinking it can refresh them. However, tannic acid in tea can form hard-to-absorb compounds with iron ions, which can lead to symptoms of anemia. Therefore, it's best for those who stay up late to drink less strong tea.
6. Leave a gap between your late-night snack and sleep
Finally, it's important to remember that there should be a gap between eating a late-night snack and going to sleep. It's unhealthy for some people to eat a large meal after work and then fall straight asleep, as it affects digestion. It's best to be slightly active for a moment after your meal before going to bed.
How to quit the habit of eating late-night snacks?
1. Ensure your three daily meals are nutritionally balanced: Eat your three proper meals to satisfy your appetite. A study by Yale University found that people with binge eating disorders often don't eat their three regular meals, failing to meet their body's nutritional needs, which makes them more likely to eat voraciously when hungry.
2. Quit the habit of eating late-night snacks while watching TV: When watching TV, try to keep your hands busy, such as doing exercises while you watch. This will naturally help reduce the habit of snacking.
3. If you absolutely must have a late-night snack, try to choose high-quality options like low-fat yogurt, cheese, soy milk, oatmeal, fruits, or vegetables. However, try to eat only until you are about 70% full.
Therefore, the best way to stay healthy is to avoid or eat fewer late-night snacks. If you do need to supplement your nutrition at night, the best choice is carbohydrates, such as starches and sugars. This type of food indirectly improves the chemical reactions in the brain, causing the body to secrete insulin, which has a calming and sedative effect, and is particularly beneficial for those with insomnia.