Health Notes: Eat to suit your body clock
For many of us, lockdown and WFH have meant eating earlier in the evening - back to the days of high tea really. Now freedom beckons and with it eating later and probably heavier, which can put a load on digestion, leading to disturbed sleep and even a higher risk of type 2 diabetes/heart disease…
The idea of going out for an evening meal - chatting with chums over delicious food and a few drinks – is pretty exciting after a year of social isolation. There’s just one thorn in that rosy prospect for those of us who’ve become used to eating the grown up equivalent of nursery high tea – the likelihood of eating more and later.
One friend has already invited us to come round at 7 for supper at 7.30 so that ‘we can all be in bed by 10’. That’s perfect for my husband and I who usually eat about then and are off to bed as soon as we’ve seen the weather. But we also have an invitation to dear friends who, I know from past experience, are still dolloping out gooseberry fool at 11pm, coffee by midnight if you last that long… (I don't.)
Some people thrive on this – or at least don't lose sleep (like my husband). I toss and turn, my tummy’s uncomfortable and my brain is still on talk mode so I wake up with a sort of gut/brain hangover – all the more infuriating since I don't even drink alcohol.
Interestingly, disruptions to your body clock have been shown to increase the risk not just of a bad night’s sleep but ill health. New research from Italy shows that, if you’re overweight, being a night owl raises the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Research from the University of Naples Federico II found that middle-aged adults with a high Body Mass Index who woke up and stayed up late were six times more likely to have type 2 diabetes and had four times higher risk of heart disease. Morning exercise was a factor too, as was sticking to a Mediterranean Diet (or not, in both cases).
A night owl lifestyle – a.k.a. an ‘evening chronotype’ – alters metabolic processes (the chemical reactions in your cells that sustain life) and speeds up the glands that control stress, digestion, the immune system and other processes. A stack of studies confirms the link between eating later, often heavier meals and piling on body fat.
As a rule of thumb, adjusting your lifestyle to suit your individual body clock may help sleep quality and all-round health. Thing is, while you can control the timing of meals in restaurants and in your home (friends loved my pre-lockdown ‘Work Night Kitchen Suppers – in at 7.30, out by 10pm puhlease!’ ), it’s not so easy with night owls. One simple way out is to opt for lunch rather than an evening meal; if that’s not possible, here are a few tips:
Support your digestion with a digestive enzyme supplement before dinner, recommends pharmacist Shabir Daya. Try Life Extension Enhanced Super Digestive Enzymes /£23.25 for 60 capsules. Or sip a cup of pure ginger tea before you go out, Triple Leaf Tea Ginger Tea /£6 for 20-tea bags.
Eat slowly, chew thoroughly, and drink plenty of still water. Hydration is crucial for the movement of food through your system; ‘many of us are dehydrated’, says Shabir Daya. Fennel tea before bed may help too, in my experience.
After dinner, chew on Life Extension EsophaCool /£10 for 60 tablets. This calcium antacid tablet with licorice root extract and magnesium relieves symptoms of reflux and excess.
Next day, my go-to drink is coconut water. It’s refreshing, hydrating and a good source of vitamin C and fibre plus several important minerals that replenish electrolytes. (Avoid brands with added sugar or flavourings.)
And now eat, drink and be very merry!