Eating a lot late in the day may increase your risk of diabetes, research shows

A recent study published in the journal Nutrition & Diabetes concluded that consuming more than 45% of daily calories after 5 p.m. may impair glucose tolerance. This is especially true in older adults with prediabetes or early-stage type 2 diabetes.

Why is eating a lot in the afternoon or evening not good for your health?

Dr. Pouya Shafipour, a family medicine and obesity physician at Providence Saint John's Health Center (USA), said the body tends to be insulin resistant at night due to natural circadian rhythms.

According to Pouya Shafipour, when receptors behind the retina sense that light is decreasing, they send a signal to the pituitary gland to secrete melatonin. This hormone helps regulate sleep but also has the effect of inhibiting the pancreas, making it unable to secrete insulin.

Therefore, eating a lot at night not only causes metabolic disorders but also poses serious long-term health risks.

If you have a habit of eating late at night, your risk of insulin resistance increases. This means you are more likely to develop prediabetes or develop diabetes. This is common in people who work night shifts, such as firefighters, police officers, doctors, or healthcare workers who regularly work at night.

In addition, the habit of eating late also causes overweight and obesity. According to Dr. Nate Wood, a medical lecturer and director of the department of culinary medicine at Yale School of Medicine (USA), the reason is that people tend to be less active in the evening. The body will digest that food into calories, then not use those calories because the body is in a resting state. Next, the body will store those calories for use when needed. However, the body stores calories as fat. Therefore, the body is prone to weight gain.

Ideal meal at the end of the day to avoid the risk of diabetes

Dinner should be light and low in carbohydrates, says Shafipour, so avoid pasta, mashed potatoes, and limit desserts, certain fruits, and alcohol.

Dinner should be a meal with a source of protein and healthy fats, such as a salad, he says.

He added that the time when the body's metabolism is most active is between 10am and 4pm or 5pm. Therefore, if we want to minimize insulin resistance due to circadian rhythm, we should eat foods high in carbohydrates during that time and gradually reduce the amount of carbohydrates in meals at dusk and evening. That will help limit insulin resistance and help the body sleep better.