7 Foods Not To Eat In The Evening

Dinner is one of the main meals of the day. Therefore, you should not skip it or include foods that should not be eaten in the evening. Although dinner should be a light meal, serving it is essential for certain vital processes in the body during the rest period.

The nutrients obtained at dinner influence the quality of sleep, digestion and the level of physical and mental energy the next day.

The problem is that many people do not know how to choose the right food. Therefore, the body is overloaded, experiencing various problems.

Even if it seems important to just quench your hunger, the foods you eat before bed can have various negative effects on digestion and metabolism.

How to avoid the mentioned problems? For starters, it’s good to know that there are foods that should not be eaten in the evening. Read on to find out who they are.

1. Pasta is a food that should not be eaten in the evening

The fact that pasta is a food that should not be eaten in the evening does not mean that it should be completely eliminated from the diet. Being an important source of carbohydrates, pasta is ideal for the active moments of the day. For example, you can serve this dish for lunch.

• Consumed in the evening, pasta can fall hard on the stomach, disturbing your rest during the night. Also, due to the high number of calories, this food can affect metabolism and body weight.

2. Ice cream

Eating ice cream in the evening or even at night is not the best idea. Although it is full and delicious, this dessert is rich in saturated fats, sugar and additives that affect your body weight and sleep quality.

• Consumption of ice cream during the evening affects digestion. As a result, you experience problems such as bloating and stimulation of the nervous system. 
• This food interrupts your sleep because it causes acid reflux and hyperglycemia.

3. Cheese

Cheese and foods that contain it cannot be missing from the list of foods that should not be eaten in the evening, before bedtime. Even if they are not harmful, these products can cause weight gain and sleep disorders.

• The cheese contains tyramine, an amino acid that can decrease the production of hormones that regulate sleep. 
• Cheese fats are heavy and difficult to digest, causing an inflammatory reaction in the body.

4. Spicy spices

Spices and sauces give flavor to culinary preparations. Although these foods are not normally harmful, it is advisable to avoid them at dinner.

• Spicy foods irritate the gastric mucosa and predispose you to acid reflux and digestive problems.
• Consumption of hot spices before bed causes acid reflux, heartburn and stomach pain.

5. Cauliflower

Cauliflower has few calories and is very healthy. However, despite its beneficial properties, it is not recommended to consume it in the evening, as it can cause intestinal gas.

• Served at dinner or even a few hours before bed, cauliflower makes digestion difficult and causes that feeling of heaviness in the stomach that affects rest.

6. Dark chocolate

Due to its nutritional properties, dark chocolate has gained the status of a healthy food, notable for its high fat and calorie content. In fact, this food is recommended for improving brain health and mood.

However, consuming chocolate before bedtime, even in moderate amounts, causes problems. 

• This dessert contains substances that stimulate the nervous system and keep the brain active.
• The moment you charge yourself with a dose of energy, it is hard for you to fall asleep and you face episodes of insomnia.

7. Red and processed meat

It is good to limit the consumption of red or processed meat, regardless of the time of day. Even though this food contains nutrients, the high content of saturated fats and chemicals removes it from the list of healthy products.

• Eating red or processed meat before bed is a big mistake. The proteins in its composition make digestion difficult and cause sleep problems.
• With a high number of calories, meat preparations slow down the metabolism and lead to fattening.

To prevent digestive problems and sleep disorders, it is best to serve light, low-calorie foods for dinner. To protect your body, avoid all seven foods that should not be eaten in the evening and opt for a healthy diet at this time of day.