Nigh Time Eating? Yes or No

One very common question I get is about eating at night.

People want to know if they should eat anything after dinner or if they should eat anything past a certain time or any other combination of this question.

I don't know where this idea of not eating past 6pm (or whatever time) got started. I'm sure Oprah said it at some point, so I'll blame it on her.

There is a little truth to not eating at night after dinner, but I think there's a bigger picture involved.

Why do you eat at night?

Are you really hungry or is there another reason?

I think the reason that you eat at night is twofold.

Number 1 is that you're bored. The day is winding to a close and you are watching some reality show because there aren't any scripted shows on thanks to the writers' strike (I miss 24) and you need something to do. So you go to the refrigerator or cupboard and grab some comfort food to take up the time.

The other reason is that you want to relax at night.

Everybody wants to relax at night. It's instinctual. Your body is naturally getting ready to sleep and you need to relax or wind down in order to sleep.

There's actually a scientific reason behind this as well.

Most snack foods are high in sugar. Sugar releases opiates in the brain that make you feel good.

When you feel good, you relax. When you relax, you are ready to sleep, which makes your body happy.

But these same feel good foods make you fat, which doesn't make you happy, it makes you mad.

So, the question still remains is it OK to snack at night or to eat past a certain time.

Of course it's OK to eat at night.

It's definitely OK to eat past a certain time. The thought that there's some magical cutoff in the day that if you consume anything after this magical hour you'll be gaining lots of fat is ridiculous.

The problem isn't eating at night, it's what you eat at night.

Are you eating the high sugar, fat-laden snack foods? Or are you eating something good for you like a piece of fruit or some fat-free dairy or some almonds.

All of those foods I just mentioned will help you relax and get ready for sleep, by the way and are good if you want to lose fat.

That's the key to eating at night. Eat healthy snacks. And remember, healthy doesn't have to be boring and healthy isn't inconvenient, either.

So take that Oprah! You can eat at night and lose fat too!

I think I should have my own talk show called "Ed".

I know for a fact that my "favorite things" episodes would be much cooler and there's no way Tom Cruise would jump around my furniture without getting a slap in the head.

Have a good week and snack well!

Ed Scow