Is a late dinner as bad for our hearts as a high salt diet? Nutritionist Amanda Ursell looks at the new research claims
Scientists are now telling us we should eat our last meal of the day before 7pm. This, they say, will help reduce the risk of raised blood pressure at nighttime and the knock-on effects of increased risk of heart damage as a result. They say the effects of eating late are even worse than having a diet that’s high in salt.
The findings are the result of a study of 700 people and they’ve been widely reported in the media as a warning against eating late. There are two things to take from this, in my view.
Be realistic about your own schedule
If eating before 7pm is physically impossible due to your daily schedule and bringing dinner forward to this time disrupts family life, then forget it.
The stress entailed in trying to dash home in the rush hour, the tension caused by flying around the kitchen to get a meal on the table by this artificial time limit and the sheer anxiety triggered by having yet another deadline in your life are all probably going to raise your blood pressure way more than sitting down to a relaxed meal at 8pm.
And, let’s face it, dining late doesn’t seem to do much harm to French, Italian and Spanish populations, who would raise several million pairs of eyebrows between them if you tried to get them to table before 8 or even 9pm. Those nations appear to have lower rates of heart problems than us.
Keep reducing your salt intake
A sudden rush for the salt cellar and piling into ready salted crisps would be a backwards step. Whereas this piece of research is an interesting insight into the effect of time of eating on 700 people, it’s nothing compared with the weight of evidence showing that cutting down on salt has beneficial effects on blood pressure in the vast majority of people. So keep going with attempts to lower your salt intake, both in processed foods that you buy and meals made at home.
If reading the headlines from this new research was enough to make you feel even more bludgeoned into a dietary straitjacket, take heart: eating three balanced meals a day, at times that suit you and your loved ones, plus getting regular physical activity into your life are, from a nutritionist’s view, way more important for helping you lead a healthy lifestyle than sticking with a rigid meal time.
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