7 Reasons Why an Early Dinner Makes a Healthier You

A few days ago I came across an article by Isabella Cavallo which discusses what nutritionists believe to be the best time to eat dinner.  The article talks about eating dinner early, between 5 and 7 p.m.  Many similar articles have been written and different reasons cited for eating dinner early.   Once such article that comes to mind is “The underrated Pleasures of Eating Dinner Early”.  This articles talks about eating habits of different cultures in Europe and America.  Lauren Collins, the author, talks about the American culture where eating between 5 and 7 p.m. was the norm in the good old days.  She further talks about the French who cannot think of eating before 8:45 and the Spanish where dinner starts at about 11 p.m. and can last until the wee hours.   Today you can see more and more people dinning late, mostly because of their jobs, transport times, and when they get time to cook food from other household obligations.  East Indians have always known to have their dinner early and light, but unfortunately globalization and modernization has forced them to jump into the late night eaters’ bandwagon.

EATING EARLY FROM AN AYURVEDIC PERSPECTIVE

Ayurveda is a well known ancient system of holistic medicine.  Ayurveda classifies people as per the three bodily humors known as doshas.  These are namely; vatta, pitta, and kapha.  Vatta is said to comprise of ether and air and is supposed to be cold and dry, pitta comprises of fire and water and is hot in nature, kapha is a combination of earth and water and is cold and wet.   The kapha dosha is strong in the later part of the day and slows digestion and that is the reason why, as per ayurveda, one must eat foods that are easily digestible at least three hours before sleeping.  If you would like to know more about doshas, check out this article: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vata-dosha-pitta-dosha-kapha-dosha.  So let us find out why it is beneficial to eat light and early.

Benefits of Eating Early

1.    Improved Digestion:

    Digestion happens when one is awake.  So, if you eat dinner and sleep, it affects digestion as the body is not able to fully absorb the nutrients from the food.  This can give rise to problems like acid reflux, gas, constipation etc.  Eat an early dinner and keep these medical issues at bay.  Moreover, your will have a healthier gut as absorption and defecation will happen in a better way.

2.    Improves the quality of sleep:  

Insomnia is a big issue for many people.  Apart from stress and work, eating habits can also influence sleep.  The body is the best example of a system.  Everything needs to be done in an order.  When dinner has been served, eaten, the body goes to work and finishes digestion, absorption in about three to four hours and then it is time to shut shop and get ready to sleep.  As every other organ goes into sleep mode, we as individuals experience a rejuvenated and peaceful sleep.  On the other hand, if the body cycle is disturbed, your sleep gets affected.  You may get up during the night and experience gas, bloating, restless leg syndrome etc.

3.    Weight Management: 

Research shows people who eat early are more likely to keep their weight in check.  Eating between 5 and 7 gives the body enough time to burn calories before going to bed.  This helps to prevent excessive calorie storage.  Less calorie storage means less fat.  This in turn would imply that it can help you lose weight.

4.    Getting up early: 

In one of my previous articles, how I have been getting up early for the last 10 years, I mentioned that eating early and light is one of the most important factors that can help you get up early.  The food gets digested, all proceses are shut down before going to sleep and our body feels light.  Consequently, our sleep quality improves and we spend less time in sleep mode.

5.    Balanced Blood Sugar Levels: 

There are numerous research articles on the internet floating around that talk of the benefit of an early dinner in helping to stabilize blood sugar levels.  It reduces the risk of insulin spikes and thus helps to regulate blood sugar.  If you are over 40, then having an early dinner can go a long way in promoting good health as digestion slows down with age.

6.    Increased Energy Levels: 

A twilight dinner can help immensely with quick digestion and absorption of food and conversion to glucose.  This becomes available to us in the form of energy throughout the next day.   This means you feel energetic, active, and may even feel like exercising and going for a run, walk, or an hour of hot yoga.

7.    Better Mood and Mental Clarity: 

Heavy food, booze, and late night parties can make you feel foggy the next day.  Mental clarity goes for a toss.  These over-indulgences can result in hangovers, headaches etc and the entire day can go to waste.  Consequently, you may feel irritated resulting in mood swings and categorizing that day as a bad day.  Think about having the same routine for a month and you would end up having consistent bad days and eventually term it as a bad patch in your life.

In conclusion, it would be great a step from a health perspective if you can embrace the habit of eating early easily digestible food.  The benefits as listed above are numerous from improved digestion, keeping your weight in check, having a good night sleep, and the bonus of getting up early to tackle your day in a better mood.  So, making such a small change can transform you into a Healthier version of you.

Suggested Reading:

1. How to Start Running: https://www.marathonyogis.blog/2023/05/how-to-start-running-beginners-guide.html
2. HIDE: Halving the intake and doubling the exercie: https://www.marathonyogis.blog/2023/07/the-weight-loss-equation-hide-halving.html
3. A leathal combination of running and yoga: https://www.marathonyogis.blog/2020/04/weight-loss-with-runog.html