In ancient India, people used to have an early dinner. The usual idea was to have the last meal before sunset. Why? There were a few reasons - to align with natural circadian rhythms, to maintain metabolism and gut health, and the lack of modern lighting and electricity.
According to Ayurveda, it is believed that the digestive fire decreases after sunset, making it difficult for the body to process meals. Now, science‑backed studies also claim that early dinners are better for your gut than late‑night meals or midnight snacking.
Dr Saurabh Sethi, a gut doctor based in California, recently shared a post titled 'Your dinner time might matter more than your dinner plate'. The expert, trained at Harvard, Stanford, and AIIMS, often shares content on social media on how people can improve their gut health.
How Eating Late Dinners Can Harm Your Gut
The gut specialist shared that when a person eats late, it not only impacts their gut but also affects insulin sensitivity.
When you eat late,
- Fat burning slows down
- Insulin sensitivity drops by 30% to 40%
- Sleep hormones get affected
- The digestive system gets impacted
"This happens because your body keeps digesting when it is time to repair and detox. That's why you wake up heavy, bloated, or still tired - even after 8 hours of sleep," Dr Sethi wrote.
Why Dinner Time Matters More Than What's On Your Plate
When you eat dinner early in the evening, it affects your body positively, according to a study published in the National Library of Medicine.
Dr Saurabh Sethi noted,
- It improves insulin sensitivity
- It reduces nighttime glucose by 15%
- It improves sleep quality
This stands true if you keep the calorie intake the same for late and early dinner plates. Explaining why it happens, the gut specialist said, "After sunset, melatonin rises naturally, and insulin release weakens. This can lead to poorer sleep and greater fat storage overnight."
He noted that even a difference of 2.5 hours can make a huge impact on the gut. For example, if someone eats dinner at 7 pm, they would sleep better and have a stable sugar spike. On the other hand, if someone has their last meal at 9:30 pm, they would experience a high sugar spike.
This gets worse for people who struggle to manage diabetes (or are prediabetic) and fatty liver. They can experience a sugar spike of 30-50% higher if they have late dinners.
"This is why early dinner can help hormones and sugar control, which is crucial for prediabetes, diabetes, and fatty liver," the gut doctor wrote.
A person does not need to follow an extreme lifestyle, but they just need to be in sync with their bodies. Eating an early dinner will not only improve your lifestyle but also help you manage a few disorders, improve sleep patterns, and boost gut health.
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