Digestion

Question
Hello and thank you for taking your time to answer my question !

Lots of people say that it's not good to eat after six o clock pm (or so), but I know that it really depends on what time you're actually going to bed.

Now I have read that it's not good to eat any sort of carbohidrates and fruit before bed (because of the sugar problem which apparently stops the body from burning fats).

However they recommend protein (because the body has to recover during the night).

Protein on the other hand takes much longer to digest so wouldn't that actually make me lose weight but prevent me from getting the right sleep  (as sleep starts before digestion ends) and even give me stomach problems?

In the end... What should we eat for dinner?

Answer
Dear Liz,

The biggest problem is that lots of people say lots of things, and in the end the general public has no idea who to believe!
The real issue is that many people snack heavily at night. This contributes to problems like heartburn when they lie down shortly after eating a large amount of food. It also contributes to weight gain if they have eaten all the calories they need during the day, and then have a few hundred more in milk and cookies, ice cream, or chips.
If you eat most of what you need during the day, then have a light snack (fruit or cheese with crackers) there won't be a problem.

It is a fact that if you do eat lots of carbs you won't burn fat--because if you have all the calories you need (and more) there is no reason for the body to dip into the energy storage (fat) for more fuel.  And protein does not take much longer to digest than carbs--fat takes the longest.

A light snack in the evening about 2 hours before you retire should leave you in a good state for sleeping, especially if you haven't exceeded your total energy needs for the day.

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