Have you heard the theory that carbs before bed make you store
fat and that protein is the best snack to eat after dinner and
before bed time ? If you're anything like me, you snack
regularly at night and that snack just happens to be a
carbohydrate. You could be forgiven for thinking that this
might be a bad habit to get into if you want to burn body fat.
There have been many recommendations that a good after dinner
snack should be something like cottage cheese (a source of
protein). Reasons for these recommendations are that protein can
increase metabolism and it provides the body with a slow-release
source of amino acids.
Foods high in protein have been a popular choice because the
digestion of protein causes the body to burn more calories than
do carbs or fats. This has the effect of marginally increasing
the rate of metabolism.
Protein also provides the body with the essential biological
building blocks known as amino acids which help to maintain
muscle. Because amino acids can't be stored, having a constant
supply of these is essential. So some recommend eating protein
at the end of the day, to ensure that your body won't be without
the amino acids it needs during the 8 - 10 hours sleep.
So protein is a good after dinner snack, but is this the whole
story ?
What would happen if you ate carbs for your late night snack ?
What about eating both carbohydrates AND protein ?
Dieters and athletes alike worry that they will gain weight if
they eat carbs close to going to bed. Essentially this is not
true. Weight gain does not result if you habitually eat
carbohydrates after the evening meal and before you go to bed.
What The Research says:
Research indicates that carbohydrates at bed time play a role in
helping to lose and maintain weight.
Researchers administering this study split participants into two
groups, one eating a ready-to- eat cereal with skim milk, and the
other not eating anything before bed time over a four week
period. The group who ate the ready-to-eat cereal before bed
actually lost more weight than those who did not eat a bed time
snack. One explanation may be that carbohydrates are necessary
for your body to process and break down fat. So cutting
carbohydrate intake when you want to burn fat might not be the
best way to go.
Another explanation, may be that those who ate the cereal just
ended up consuming less calories. Researchers found that
participants, in both groups consumed less calories, but those
who ate the before bed time snack had the greatest decline in
energy intake overall. [1] So eating carbs before bed will help
you to lose weight, not gain weight.
Interestingly though, the group who ate the before bed-time
snacks in the above study did not just consume carbohydrates,
they also consumed protein not only from the skim milk, but also
the protein contained in the cereal itself.
Expert Opinions on the Right Before Bed Time Snack.
Many nutritionists and dietetic experts recommend that your bed
time snack consists of both carbohydrates and protein. The
American Dietetic Association [2] recommends eating sources of
both carbs and protein together as a snack, giving examples such
as crackers and low fat cheese, yogurt and fruit or cereal and
milk.
In an Australian Institute of Sport sample high energy meal plan
[3] for a young anonymous athlete, fruit smoothies with skim
milk, fruit, ice-cream and skim milk powder was listed as the bed
time snack. Their official site [4] also indicates that
combining nutrients is the way to go.
So according to the experts, examples of the most beneficial bed-
time snacks are:
* fruit and some plain low fat yogurt,
* a skim milk smoothie with fruit, or
* low fat cheese on crackers - my personal favorite.
When you combine both carbohydrates and protein it makes for a
much more enjoyable and varied snack. This way you are not only
ensuring that your body is getting the right fuel and nutrients
for use of overnight, but also ensuring that you're not going to
store fat.
References:
[1] Sandia M. Waller, MS, RD, Jillon S. Vander Wal, PhD, David
M. Klurfeld, PhD, FACN, Michael I. McBurney, PhD, FACN, Susan
Cho, PhD, Smita Bijlani, MD and Nikhil V. Dhurandhar, PhD, FACN
Evening Ready-to-Eat Cereal Consumption Contributes to Weight
Management Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol.
23, No. 4, 316-321 (2004). See the abstract at
http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/abstract/23/4/316.
[2] American Dietetic Association Position on Late Night
Snacking. View the page at
http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/home_4246_ENU_HTM
L.htm
[3] Reported by Steve Dow at
http://www.stevedow.com.au/Article/article.asp?id=225
[4] Australian Institute of Sport FAQ "I have been told to avoid
carbohydrate after 2 pm because it will turn to fat. Is this true?".
Viewable at http://www.ais.org.au/nutrition/qa.asp#24
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