Everything has its own time in life, and the same goes for food too! Some foods, if consumed at different times of the day, have different effects. If we want to get the best benefit from food, we should know when is the best time to eat certain foods, such as fruit, vegetables, chocolate, walnuts, cereals, meat or pasta.
Every food has a time of its own!
Here follow a few examples of foods we should eat at specific times of the day.
When is the best time to eat certain foods?
Dark chocolate – morning
Dark chocolate gives our body lots of antioxidants, helping our heart to function properly and slowing down ageing. Eating chocolate in the morning lowers the risk for our body to turn it into fat, in case we “accidentally” eat more than 25 grams, the recommended daily dose.
Meat – lunch
Meat is packed with large amounts of iron, which is responsible for tissue oxygenation. It improves the immune system and the body response to pathogenic agents. It also helps battle tiredness and fatigue. Eating meat at lunch gives us the right charge to take on the rest of the day.
On the contrary, we should avoid eating meat for dinner, because our body needs at least 5 hours to digest it properly.
Walnuts – midmorning
A handful of untoasted walnuts (30 gr.) accounts for our daily Omega-3 fatty acids requirements. What is more, eating walnuts on a daily basis helps strengthen blood vessels, improve breathing and normalize blood pressure.
Walnuts are quite caloric – there are 654 calories in 100 grams of Walnuts. Eating them in the afternoon or in the evening might increase the risk of gaining weight.
Oranges – after lunch
Oranges make digestion easier, have vigorous effects and boost metabolism.
We shouldn’t eat oranges in the morning or on an empty stomach, because they might stir allergic reactions, irritate stomach mucosae and increase the risk of gastritis.
Buckwheat or emmer wheat – lunch
Buckwheat or emmer wheat are cereals made up of complex carbohydrates. Our body draws upon all of its energy supplies to digest and absorb them, and this leads to weight loss.
Our digestion slows down in the evening, and our body can’t process carbs properly, thus turning them into fat and making us gain unwanted weight.
Pasta – lunch
Durum wheat pasta (especially if whole wheat pasta) contains large amounts of fiber, which helps flush toxins out of our body. Al dente pasta has a low glycemic index, meaning that doesn’t raise the blood sugar and eating it prevents the risk of diabetes. Nevertheless, eating it for dinner proves to be difficult for digestion and increases the risk of gaining weight.
Tomatoes – lunch
The organic acids tomatoes are packed with support the digestive process, and help such organs as stomach and pancreas function properly.
Tomatoes are loaded with large amounts of oxalates, which may cause water retention and puffiness. This is the reason why it is not advisable to eat tomatoes for dinner.
Potatoes – lunch
Potatoes are rich in starch, which helps lower bad cholesterol levels (LDL) and protects the liver. What is more, minerals potatoes are packed with give us the energy to take on the rest of the day.
But there is also the downside. Potatoes have two times as many calories as other vegetables (71 calories per 100 grams of boiled potatoes), that’s why eating potatoes for dinner may be disadvantageous for our body shape, considering that a medium-sized potato weighs about 200-300 grams.
Apples – morning or lunch
We know eating apples is healthy; they are rich in pectin, a substance that supports the health of our intestines and prevents cancer.
Eating apples in the evening may cause stomach acidity. What is more pectin needs much time in order to get digested.
Sweets – morning
It is a lot easier to burn the calories of the sweet foods we eat at breakfast, than the calories of a slice of cake we eat at dinner. What is more, sugar is hard to digest, it irritates the lining of the intestinal mucosa and may cause bloating, insomnia and weight gain.
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