Experts say this is the worst time to snack – no matter what you’re eating
Most of us are guilty of opening the fridge and pulling out a block of cheese to slice or grabbing a bag of potato chips from the pantry as a pre-bed treat.
But when you choose to snack may be just as important as what you’re snacking on to ensure you stay healthy.
Experts have suggested that late-night snacking could have a negative impact on several areas of your health – from blood sugar levels to weight management.
Although a small evening snack might be OK if you are truly hungry, late-night snacking can impact your weight if it becomes a frequent habit, registered dietitian Lindsey DeSoto wrote in a Thursday post on Health.
“Research suggests the body may process food better earlier in the day,” she said.
That’s because late-night eating contrasts with our body’s internal clock, also known as the circadian rhythm or the sleep-wake cycle.
Your body releases hormones that make you feel hungry and alert during the day as a part of that rhythm – but eating at night can disrupt that process.
“Some research tells us that disrupting when you’re feeding versus fasting or sleeping and waking will change your circadian rhythm,” Johns Hopkins Medicine explains. “This alters how the body processes nutrients from the diet such as calories from sugars and fat.”
That’s why eating at night has been tied to a heightened risk of obesity and researchers at Harvard Medical School found that eating late may increase hunger instead of satisfy it.
Lab tests showed that people who ate later had lower levels of the hormone that helps us to feel full, which is called leptin.
People eating later also burned calories at a slower rate and had genetic triggers for fat growth.
“We found that eating four hours later [in the day] makes a significant difference for our hunger levels, the way we burn calories after we eat and the way we store fat,” Nina Vujović, a researcher in the Medical Chronobiology Program at the school, explained in 2022.
Snacking on chips or any carbohydrates at night has another unintended effect that can leave people vulnerable to chronic disease.
It spikes your blood sugar levels because the body is less able to regulate them than earlier in the day.
That’s because our bodies produce the hormone insulin, which is responsible for moving glucose out of the blood, at lower levels at night.
Melatonin, the sleep hormone we produce before we fall asleep, is also a factor.
“The natural production of melatonin in the body for sleep can decrease insulin secretion, or the body may have less sensitivity to the hormone,” registered dietitian Christina Manian told EatingWell on Tuesday. “This means that the body may have a lower ability to metabolize high levels of circulating glucose as a result of late-night snacking compared to earlier in the day.”
So when is a good time to have a snack?
Both morning and afternoon snacks can help you stay healthy and provide crucial energy to take on the day.
The best time to snack is if your stomach feels empty, you’re low on energy and your next meal is several hours away, DeSoto says. If you know you are going to be active later in the day, a balanced snack can provide you with energy too.
Portioning snacks out ahead of time can help you to avoid binge eating, as well as raised blood sugar levels. Snacks packed with protein and fiber can help you to feel fuller for longer as well, such as apples with almond butter, hummus and veggies and cottage cheese.
