So, it's almost time for bed, but you're suddenly hungry... what would you like to snack on before bed? We often stuff ourselves with completely wrong foods before going to bed, mistakenly believing that there is no difference, and then we wonder why we can’t fall asleep. Well, believe it or not, what you eat before bed has a direct impact on how well you'll sleep, and possibly whether you'll be able to sleep at all. Yes, falling asleep with an empty stomach can be very, very difficult, and there is nothing wrong with the fact that you decide to have a snack before going to bed, but you must choose the right food for a snack, and in no case overeat . Your snack should not exceed 200 calories and should not contain caffeine. Below you will find a list of foods that you definitely shouldn’t eat before bed - learn to avoid them, unless, of course, you want to gain excess weight, have insomnia and at the same time ruin your health.
So, the worst thing you can eat before bed is...
Red meat
I don't recommend you eat any meat before bed because it takes too long to digest. Well, red meat, especially canned meat, is a really bad choice for a late-night snack. Red meat is, figuratively speaking, packed to the brim with fats and proteins, which actually isn't that bad—if you eat it during the day. By eating red meat before bed, you give your body a lot of work to do for the whole night - instead of resting, it will be busy digesting, giving you a gurgling stomach, discomfort, and even indigestion. So, if you don’t want to toss and turn half the night, listening to the churning in your stomach, spare your body - eat healthy food at night. In addition, red meat increases insulin production, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, so it is better not to eat it at all in the evenings. If you want to eat something filling at night, eat a hard-boiled egg. It is much healthier than red meat.
Alcohol
I don’t know where the myth that large amounts of alcohol promotes good sleep came into our society, but a myth is a myth. Yes, alcohol makes us sleepy and “slow,” but it does not make our sleep stronger or better. Alcohol contributes to dehydration and reduces the restorative effect of sleep. After drinking a large dose of alcohol before bed, you may well wake up in the middle of the night and not fall back to sleep until the morning. Therefore, if you want your sleep to be sound and refreshing, avoid drinking alcohol just before bed. Otherwise, after you wake up in the morning, bags under your eyes and fumes from your mouth will remind you that you shouldn’t have drunk before bed. And if you suffer from periodic or chronic insomnia, be aware that systematic alcohol consumption can aggravate its symptoms.
Sweet bars
Yes, sometimes it is so difficult to resist a tempting bar - full of nougat and caramel, covered in chocolate... but still try to restrain yourself, especially if you are about to go to bed. Recent research has shown that 7 out of 10 people who eat junk food like candy bars before bed are much more likely to have nightmares instead of normal dreams that night. The sugar contained in sweet bars is food for our brain, and a completely overheated brain at night invariably slides into nightmares. One day, as an experiment, I decided to snack on sweets at night. The first night I didn't notice anything special, but after I continued doing this the next day, the next night was the worst I've experienced in a very, very long time. At first my sleep was filled with terrible nightmares, and then, scared, I woke up and could not sleep until the morning. Naturally, in the morning I was in such a state that I had to take time off from work and try to take a nap during the day. The same thing happened the next night. To be honest, at first I couldn’t believe that all this happened because of some candy, but as soon as I started eating healthy food in the evenings again, all my nightmares disappeared, as if they had never existed. Of course, what you eat before bed is up to you, but if your hand reaches for a sweet bar... it’s better not to.
Ice cream
I am more than sure that most of my readers love ice cream. Yes, I adore him myself. However, unfortunately, ice cream, like medals, has two sides. Ice cream perfectly calms us down and can quickly cheer us up even on the darkest day, but if it occurs to you to eat ice cream before bed, you should know that the thought that came into your head is clearly not the best. Eating ice cream before bed is a bad idea even if you want to gain weight. Any ice cream is chock-full of fats, which, like all fats, are digested rather slowly, and there is also a lot of sugar, which, as you already know, causes nightmares and can keep you up all night. Yes, the taste of ice cream is simply super, but the consequences of eating it at night are absolutely terrible. If you want something milky for the night, forget about ice cream. Instead, drink a glass of regular unsweetened milk. Yes, it is not nearly as tasty as ice cream, but it is much healthier and healthier.
How to make black bread
Rye flour differs from wheat flour not only in color, but also in chemical composition. The base for the black loaf does not contain gluten, without which it is very difficult to knead elastic dough. In addition, rye contains a lot of alpha-amylase. This substance promotes the conversion of starch into dextrin, which also does not have the best effect on the quality of baking dough.
Because of these features, rye flour products do not hold their shape well and “float”. But our ancestors, for whom rye grains were the basis of the diet, came up with a solution to the problem.
As already mentioned, the technology for producing rye bread was discovered back in the 11th century and has not changed much since then. In those distant times, cooks came up with the idea of using sourdough containing lactic acid bacteria. She took on the role of yeast: it causes fermentation and loosening of the dough. By the way, the taste and aroma of the finished product depends on the quality of the starter. In ancient times, sourdough recipes belonged to important family secrets and were passed down from generation to generation.
Chips
Perhaps now I will say a very obvious thing, but... do not eat chips before bed, especially if your plans do not include gaining an extra couple of kilograms. Chips are one of those delicious foods that are very difficult to stop eating once you start. So if you decide to spend the evening sitting in front of the TV or computer, beware of chips like fire - because it is in such situations that you can eat several packs without even noticing it. When you are distracted by something, it is not easy, but very easy, to lose control of how much you have eaten and binge eat. If you really want to munch on something on the couch in front of the TV, cut yourself some carrots or bell peppers or pour a handful of peeled almonds into your cup. You'll have something to crunch on, and the fiber in the veggies and almonds will fill you up much faster than chips. In addition, vegetables and almonds are much healthier than chips and soda, which will only give your body extra calories.
Peanut butter
Almond butter, peanut butter, or any other nut butter that becomes your favorite bedtime snack may well contribute to weight gain. Yes, there are studies showing that peanut butter promotes weight loss, but many more researchers believe that it and other nut butters may be responsible for weight gain. When I suffered from bulimia, I ate nut butter almost every evening, only coming to my senses when I gained five kilograms. I must tell you, it was not only a bad habit, but also a shameful one. So if you're craving a snack before bed, put the nut butters aside and drink a big glass of unsweetened almond milk. Almond milk is rich in calcium, makes you feel full, calms your nerves and promotes healthy sleep. You can sweeten it slightly with stevia or cinnamon for the perfect bedtime snack! No, if you still want to eat peanut butter, you can, but exercise moderation and try not to make it a habit.
Most popular this month
The main thing is to observe moderation. When creating individual programs, we take into account your eating habits so that the process of transition from a regular table to a new, healthy and healthy one does not cause rejection and helps you start a new life in a new body. First, let's answer the question of which loaf is most dangerous for our figure. It is made from white refined wheat flour, is stored for a long time, and pests are not attracted to it, but such a product, which has undergone serious processing, has completely lost its beneficial properties.
There are simply no valuable organic compounds left in it that are needed for the normal functioning of our body. But there are dangerous components: This means one thing: white bread not only provokes weight gain, but also leads to other adverse consequences; its regular consumption can lead to a weakening of the body's defenses and deterioration of health.
We strongly recommend avoiding products made from refined flour simply because they do not provide any benefits. The first myth is that flour contributes to weight gain and should not be eaten if you want to lose weight.
You may disagree with this if you look at the calorie table. The indicators are as follows: Borodino, loaves and rolls made from wheat flour are ahead - they have kcal per g.
Bread
If you're trying to gain a few pounds, you can eat as much bread as you want at night. But if you're on a diet and want to lose weight, stay away from it, especially before bed. My friend wanted to gain some weight. In just a month, she gained as much as 5 kilograms, and all she did for this was eat a sandwich every day for a month before bed. Bread is almost entirely carbohydrates and contains yeast, which means it not only causes your body to gain weight, but also leaves you hungry - meaning you may well get up in the middle of the night and make another raid on the fridge. But even if you are trying to gain weight, you should not stuff yourself with sandwiches from morning to evening. There are plenty of healthy ways to gain weight, and eating bread is not one of them. Instead of making yourself another sandwich, make yourself some oatmeal. Oatmeal is also a source of carbohydrates, but unlike sandwiches, it won't make you puff up like a balloon.
What is rye bread
Rye bread is a type of baked goods made using special technologies from rye flour. This is exactly the bread that has been known since ancient times as “black”. No, rye flour is not black at all, although it is slightly darker than wheat. The raw dough made from it is almost no different from wheat, but under the influence of high temperature, rye baked goods darken.
The appearance of the loaf will tell you about the quality of rye bread. The crust of a properly prepared product has no cracks and does not peel off from the crumb. The inside of the loaf should be elastic, but not sticky, porous, but at the same time without voids. The shelf life of the rye product is from 24 to 36 hours.
Rye bread is considered an original Russian product. Back in the 11th-12th centuries. In Rus' they came up with a unique technology for making black bread without yeast using a special starter. And I must say, this technology is successfully used today.
Content:
- What is rye bread
- How to make black bread
- Product varieties
- What are the benefits of rye baked goods?
- Use in folk medicine
- Use in cosmetology
- Harm of rye bread
Pizza
Of course, if you want to eat a slice of your favorite pizza at night, it's not the end of the world... but are you sure you can limit yourself to just one slice? Yes, pizza is delicious and quite easy to prepare, but each bite is a kind of calorie bomb, fraught with unsightly fat deposits on the sides, especially if you eat pizza at night. The tomato sauce that's on your pizza is highly acidic and can cause acid reflux, and the fatty toppings are a surefire recipe for heartburn. In general, if you want to be guaranteed to wake up in the middle of the night and never fall back to sleep, eat pizza before bed - as much as you want. But if you want not just to fall asleep, but to get enough sleep, forget about it, at least for the evening. And if you really want to treat yourself to pizza before bed, try baking a vegetable pizza with carrots and bell peppers, but without a thick layer of tomato sauce and without other unhealthy additives.
Chocolate
Although dark chocolate does not contain excessive amounts of fat and sugar, it does contain something else. Caffeine. And not only that, but chocolate also contains other stimulants, like theobromine, which speeds up your heart rate. This natural chemical cocktail can help you stay awake at night if that's what you're trying to do, but it can also keep you from getting a good night's sleep if you simply eat a chocolate bar by mistake before bed. People who don't get enough sleep regularly tend to have high levels of cortisol, which has a damaging effect on muscle tissue. I really love good dark chocolate, and before I couldn’t even imagine that eating chocolate before bed could guarantee a sleepless night... However, recent scientific research convincingly proves that people who want to get a good night’s sleep are not recommended to eat any chocolate before bed. However, no one forbids us to enjoy it during the day - of course, in moderation.
Coffee and everything coffee
Coffee, coffee ice cream, coffee candy, and basically anything that contains caffeine is a bad choice for a bedtime snack. If you eat something from this list before bed, you will stay awake at least a little longer, and it will be much more difficult for you to fall asleep. And even if you do fall asleep, caffeine may well wake you up in the middle of the night and leave you feeling terrible the next morning. I know, you can object to me by saying that you are used to drinking a cup of coffee every night before going to bed, and after that you sleep just fine. But how do you feel in the morning after this? Sleepy, tired and without the desire to do anything? You may think that coffee has absolutely nothing to do with it, but I have bad news for you - it very much has to do with it, unless you are sick. So, if you want to get enough sleep and avoid health problems, stay away from coffee. At least before bed.
Pasta
Eating pasta at night, even without meat, vegetables and sauces, is a bad idea. Yes, they are easy to prepare, and almost anyone who decides to have a quick snack can do it, but if you are hungry before bed, it’s better not to do this. Pasta is high in carbohydrates and quite high in calories—and all of those calories are likely to end up on your waistline. In addition, eating a bowl of pasta before bed will spike your blood insulin levels and reduce the production of human growth hormone. The latter is a very bad sign, since about 80% of this fat-burning and muscle-building hormone is released during sleep. Avoid this effect by eating carbohydrate-rich foods, such as pasta, in the afternoon rather than in the evening.
Bread made from low-quality flour
Director of the Research Institute of the Baking Industry Alexander Kosovan believes that high-quality bread can be distinguished from low-quality bread by eye: it has a golden crust, an excellent smell, and remains fresh for a long time. It can be eaten on the 4th or 5th day, but low-quality bread will be flat, reddish and quickly become stale.
But manufacturers still skimp on the quality of flour and bake bread from low-grade flour and even from flour milled from feed grain - that is, from a product intended for fattening pigs. Flour from such grains is of very low quality, and therefore, for baking bread, improvers are added to it, for example, dry gluten - a vegetable protein present in high-quality grains. The Russian Union of Flour Millers believes that feed grain is dangerous to health: bread made from it has little protein, and it causes a hidden feeling of hunger - a person eats a lot, but does not receive the necessary substances. Deputy head of Rosselkhoznadzor Alexey Alekseenko agrees with the flour millers, but the State Bread Inspectorate was dissolved back in 2004, and Rosselkhoznadzor actually does not have the ability to control the quality of baking flour.
Baking and sweets
I hope you are not in the habit of keeping a stock of cookies, cakes, muffins and puff pastries at home. Because if you do this, then you are more likely to eat them at night. You come home from work tired and irritable, and you can't help yourself - you just need to eat something sweet to at least slightly lift your mood and energy level. However, in reality, if you are really tired, you need something else. Sleep well, immediately. So, unless you want to gain a few pounds a week and wake up in the middle of the night with low blood sugar, forget about sweets and baked goods at night. If you're really hungry before bed and want a snack, choose healthy foods like Greek yogurt with frozen berries or whole grain crackers with hummus.
Harm of rye bread
Even such a healthy product as rye bread has contraindications. In particular, due to its high acidity, this product is contraindicated for people with digestive ulcers, colic, gastritis or heartburn, and liver or gallbladder diseases.
If you replace wheat bread with rye bread in a traditional diet, you can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease several times. This assumption was made by American scientists. It is difficult to say whether this is actually true, but the fact that since ancient times black bread was considered good for health is an indisputable fact.
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Celery
Yes, I myself was surprised at one time when I learned that celery is on the list of foods that you should not eat before bed, but if you want your sleep to be deep and uninterrupted, do not eat foods with celery. Well, I mean, there's nothing really wrong with it, but celery is a natural diuretic that increases the frequency of your urination. And this, in turn, means that a full bladder will certainly wake you up in the middle of the night, or more than once. So I advise you to either limit yourself to a small amount of celery before bed, or give it up completely. Better eat a carrot. It is rich in vitamin A, good for skin and vision, and will not disturb your sleep. My favorite bedtime snack is carrots, bell peppers, and a dash of celery with homemade hummus. A vegetable smoothie is also a pretty good option.
Healthy Dinner Rules
To ensure that dinner not only delights the taste buds, but also brings maximum benefits, it is important to take into account some factors:
- The last meal is at least 3 hours before bedtime. This time will be enough for the food eaten to be fully absorbed by the body.
- You can’t immediately lie down comfortably on the sofa after an evening meal. For high-quality digestion and assimilation of eaten foods, light physical activity is necessary. This could be a walk with the dog, tidying up the closet, doing laundry;
- You can't overeat. Even healthy vegetables and fish will harm the body if they enter it in excess. The portion should not be microscopic, but eating bowls of rice before bed is not the best policy. Remember: the ideal portion is the size of a fist;
- Don't leave for dinner what you can eat for lunch. This means heavy delicacies and desserts, such as cake, grilled chicken, ham with caviar... Of course, it’s nice to treat yourself to such delicacies at the end of a tiring working day, but be prepared that your stomach will not appreciate such an evening “super prize”.
- Learn to prepare dinner correctly. This applies to products that seem to do no harm, however, they also have little benefit in the evening. First of all, say no to fast carbohydrates and starchy foods. When it comes to meat, the advantage is undeniable for lean meat, and moreover, in boiled form. Bread can be replaced with buckwheat bread. In fact, it is not difficult, but the difference in well-being is colossal.
Too much fruit
Most people think that eating a few fruits before bed is a very correct and good thing to do, and I'm not saying that it's bad - as long as you do it in moderation, of course. But too much fruit means too much sugar, and you already know the consequences of too much sugar at night. In addition, sugar begins to be digested in your gastrointestinal tract first, often releasing gas, which harms your digestion and can be very painful. If you don't want to give up fruit at night, eat a small amount first and see how you feel afterwards. But in any case, it is not recommended to eat more than one cup of fruit at night. It is much healthier and more correct to eat a small amount of fruits or berries at night in combination with some healthy food. For example, my favorite quick snack is Greek yogurt with frozen fruit. And sometimes I eat some fruit and nuts, which is also healthy and does not interfere with sleep.
Thermophilic yeast
This yeast has another name - Saccharomycetes. They are used in bakery products, brewing and the alcohol industry. They don't exist in nature. This yeast is stronger than our cells. They live both during cooking and after they enter the human mouth. Yeast cells, once in the body, begin to secrete toxic substances, affecting our cells.
© hermaion/Pexels
A toxic protein from yeast cells has a detrimental effect on the membranes of human cells, opening them to harmful viruses and microbes. Initially, yeast cells end up in our digestive tract, and from there they travel through the blood throughout the body.
In the human body, thermophilic yeast begins to multiply very quickly, thus harmful microflora actively exists, preventing the development of good microflora, with the help of which, with the right lifestyle, B vitamins and other important microelements are produced in our intestines.
Thermophilic yeast disrupts the functioning of all digestive organs. Inside, our stomach has a special mucous membrane that resists the action of acid. But when a person eats too much yeast and acid-producing foods, the stomach will not be able to tolerate it for very long. The result will be a burn, which will lead to the appearance of ulcers and to such a well-known condition as heartburn.
Eating products made from thermophilic yeast leads to the accumulation of sand in the body, which subsequently becomes stones in the liver, pancreas, and gall bladder, as well as to the appearance of constant constipation and the development of tumors.
© Pixabay/Pexels
In the intestines, rotting processes gain momentum, harmful microflora increases, feces cannot leave the body in time, so-called gas pockets are formed, in which toxic fecal deposits lie. Over time, these stones grow together with the mucous and submucosal parts of the intestine. The secretion secreted by the digestive organs can no longer fulfill its protective function, which is why the digestive function also decreases. Vitamins and microelements are very difficult to absorb and are difficult to produce.
