The Importance of Eating a Healthy Dinner

HEALTHY DINNER

While it is important to get in your 4 miles every day, it is just as important to make sure that you are filling up with a nutritious, well-portioned dinner in the evening. Planning ahead helps ensure this happens, as life during the week can often get extra hectic. When that happens, we are tempted to grab something on-the-go or heat up something frozen, which is often filled with preservatives.

Since it’s the last meal of the day it’s important to make the right choices because you won’t eat again for at least another 10  hours or so.  Ensuring that there is a steady supply of glucose for the body to use as fuel for essential processes whilst we sleep is critical.

A common cause of waking in the night, often seen in insomnia, is when levels of sugar in the blood fall. The body then has to release stored glucose and this action can cause you to wake and sometimes it may be difficult to get back to sleep.

To counteract this, it's essential to eat a good dinner which combines both protein (meat, eggs, lentils or beans) and carbohydrates (potatoes, pasta, rice, vegetables and fruit) which will ensure a steady release of glucose to the blood stream - helping to prevent disturbed sleep.

The most ideal way to eat dinner

Eat in a relaxed environment:
If you are stressed your body is unable to digest food properly meaning some of your essential nutrients are not being absorbed. Take your time when you eat and chew your food.

Eat slowly:
It is important to taste your food; this is part of the enjoyment that comes with eating. When you eat slowly you are less likely to overeat. It takes the body up to 20 minutes to register that we are full so you are more likely to over eat if you rush eating.

Avoid eating greasy or fatty foods late at night:
The more greasy or fatty the food, the harder it is to digest. When your body is digesting fatty food, it can disturb your sleep and cause indigestion.

Avoid stimulants with your dinner:
Fizzy drinks or alcohol with your dinner can hinder sleep. The caffeine present in fizzy drinks and teas/coffees can keep the body awake especially if you’re sensitive to it. Leave up to 4 hours between drinking them and going to sleep.

Avoid eating late at night:
Similar to caffeine or alcohol, eating too late will increase the likelihood of a disturbed sleep as your body is digesting. Another disadvantage to eating close to bed time is the tendency to overeat more at this time due to being extremely hungry.

Enjoy a balanced and varied dinner, including a mix of lean protein, complex carbohydrates and a variety of vegetables.

Use the following guideline and obtain the maximum health from these awesome recipes;
http://healthyliving.herbalife.co.uk/recipes/healthy-meal-recipes/bean-and-feta-salad

For any additional information or questions, feel free to inbox me at FitSpot24@gmail.com