Eating dinner before 7 pm is beneficial for your health. According to a study presented at the European Society of Cardiology in Rome, eating dinner before 7 pm can reduce the risk of heart attack 1 .
Food consumption late at night is linked with the increased risk of high blood pressure that is the main factor of cardiovascular disease. Oppositely, an early dinner can help maintain healthy blood pressure levels overnight, and thus ensures that your heart is in good condition.
It’s very significant to have a hearty breakfast and a decent lunch, though, dinner needs to be light and should be consumed before 7 pm, according to Prof. Ebru Özpelit, a cardiologist from Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey 2 .
The research involved 721 hypertensive women and men with an age of 53 years old. The type of food consumed, amounts of salt added to the food, whether or not breakfast was included and dinner time was noted by the scientists.
Among the 4 factors, eating dinner late at night had the greatest impact on the contributors’ blood pressure levels — it amplified overnight blood pressure even more if compared to consuming a meal with high amounts of salt.
Prof. Özpelit assumed that eating 2 hours before sleeping keeps our bodies alert, increasing the levels of stress in your body even when sleeping at night. Preferably, blood pressure drops during sleep, however, for those who eat late at night it remains high, amplifying the chances of hypertensive persons to have a heart attack.
Many scientists agree that DASH Diet (the best diet for 2016) can help prevent and reduce high blood pressure (hypertension) 3 4 .
Nevertheless, the research is still of great importance even to healthy individuals because it sheds light on the fact that eating at the right time of the day is as significant as the type of food eaten.
The scientist added that in this present time, numerous houses and other residences remain bright, even when it’s already dark outside – and the longer illumination period keeps persons awake and prolongs the time they can possibly eat food. Dinner, which should be taken during evening, is postponed to a much later time at nightfall. Skipping breakfasts and late night meals are some of the unhealthy practices, which many people do nowadays.
According to Peter Weissberg, a medical director at the British Heart Foundation, the study suggests that eating a food late at night may contribute to the failure of the blood pressure to reduce.5
Conclusion:
This observation that needs to be confirmed in further, prudently designed studies, submits that eating early in the evening can help persons to gain better control of their blood pressure.
Some previous studies have also found that an early dinner can help maintain a healthy blood sugar levels, reduce the risk of breast cancer, and burn calories. Eating dinner before 7 pm can help normalize your blood pressure and improve your overall health condition.