The morning breakfast is termed the most important meal of the day by dietitians (2). It is your first meal of the day after a 6-8 hour gap. However, other meals, like lunch and dinner, are also important and should not be skipped. More importantly, skipping any of these meals will not help you lose weight, as is commonly believed. Ayurveda tells us to be careful about what we eat at night. It’s the last meal of the day, and it is important to consume it at the right time and consume less oily and easily digestible foods that are low in calories. This is because the end of the day is dominated by Kapha – and the food you consume must balance Kapha and not increase it. Continue reading to know what to eat at night.
Foods That Increase Kapha Dosha
There are a few foods you must avoid eating at night since they create an imbalance in the kapha dosha. Junk food, oily food, nonvegetarian items, frozen food, heavy-to-digest food, curd, or ice cream are a few things that you must avoid eating during night time. Even if you eat them, try to have them in less or limited quantities. Eating more of them during the night may create an imbalance in the body and lead to complications like:
Weight gain A runny nose when you wake up in the morning Cough and cold. If you are already suffering from a cough and cold, chances are the condition will worsen Vomiting sensation Indigestion Excessive salivation in the morning Allergies
Eventually, wrong eating habits can lead to the formation and accumulation of toxic substances in the body, which can cause several health complications. If you’re suffering from any of the above complications, it’s high time you start taking proper care of yourself. Sometimes, a slight adjustment in your diet pattern can cure or improve most of these conditions. So, the next question that arises is what type of adjustments can improve your health.
What Things To Eat At Night?
You must be wondering what can be healthy things to eat at night, right? Worry not, just follow these simple tips for dinner.
It is suggested to eat food that is easy to digest at night. Also, try to eat a healthy and low-carb diet as it gets digested easily.
If you have the habit of eating curd at night, replace it with buttermilk. Prefer chapatis over rice since chapatis are easy and quicker to digest.
Do not overstuff yourself. Eat in limited quantities
Try to include more of dal, green leafy vegetables, curry leaves, and a small amount of ginger in your meal.
Salt is supposed to increase water retention in the body (3). Hence, it is better to cut down on the intake of salt.
Spices, on the other hand, increase warmth in your body, so try to include spices in your food (4), (5).
Reduce the sugar intake and replace it with honey as it helps in reducing the mucus (6).
If you have the habit of drinking milk before you sleep, prefer low-fat milk. Always boil the milk before drinking it. This makes it easier to digest. You can also add a small amount of ginger or cardamom to the milk before boiling it, which helps in reducing the mucus generating properties.
Do not drink cold milk. Have it while it is still warm.
The thumb rule you must follow while having your dinner is to make sure that whatever you eat, you should not get a feeling of heaviness in the stomach. Instead, your stomach must feel light so that you can sleep properly. Is it okay to go to bed hungry? No. Going to bed hungry is bad for your health. The hunger pangs will lead to sleep loss and make you feel lethargic the next day. However, eating heavy is not good for your health either. The key to maintaining healthy body weight and getting proper sleep is to consume a light meal at night. Why should we not eat apples at night? No concrete studies suggest that eating apples at night could be beneficial or harmful. As long as your last meal before bed remains light, you may eat apples. Is it bad to drink water before bed? No. Drinking water has a number of benefits, regardless of what time of the day it is. In fact, dehydration affects how your body reacts to temperatures, so drinking optimum water before bed is good for your health. However, drinking excess water can disrupt your sleep. It can also lead to a condition called nocturia, where you have to wake up frequently in the middle of the night to urinate. In such a case, stop drinking water 1-2 hours before bedtime. Are eggs good before bed? Yes. Having eggs before bed can be good. Their vitamin D, tryptophan, and melatonin content aid better sleep. They are a commonly recommended remedy for people struggling with sleep. They are also easy to digest.
