11 Healthy Foods to Avoid At Night

A good Night Sleep does good just like medicine.  If you must be at your best each day, if you want to maintain good health and strong immune system, then you must be informed about foods that interfere with quality sleep at night and stay away from them.  Ignorance is a disease itself, so if you are ignorant, you may continue to suffer and trouble your doctor regularly due to lack of knowledge of what to eat and what to avoid.

When considering foods to suit you at night, you must bare certain points in mind, and if possible provide answers to them, they include:

-  Is the food acidic?
- Is it high in calorie
- Is it inflammatory
- Is it easily digestible
- Is it high in sugar
- Does it fight or feed disease
- Is it high in fat
- Does it produce Gas

It is important to have ready answers to these questions before you decide on what to include in your dinner or before bedtime.  It is a known fact that a healthy diet must have adequate amount of proteins, carbohydrates, oils/fats,  vitamins and minerals.   Whereas all these are healthy and important aspect of  our diet, yet when it is bedtime, some of the nutrients may not be our friend.
It is therefore better to avoid some of them if they will affect our sleep negatively.

Here are 11 Healthy Foods to Avoid before bedtime

1.  Tomatoes

Tomatoes is among the healthy foods that any nutritionist will recommend to a patient, they are not only low in calorie but also help clear up arteries, however did you know that they should be avoided at night?  If you take plenty of tomatoes whether fresh or canned before bedtime, you are not likely to have a smooth flowing sleep.  Tomatoes tend to produce acidic environment during sleep, besides, it produces gas which usually interrupt sleep.

2.  Yams

Yam is a popular tuber especially in Nigeria, and when it is in season, people like to make different versions of this starchy root vegetable.  Some make porridge, or pounded yam with soup with it.  Some just take it white with a sauce made with tomatoes and pepper and various other recipes.  However, it is a gas producing food and will not allow you have a smooth sleep.  So many have suffered in ignorance unknown to them that the culprit is the yam consumed at night.  It is a healthy and popular  starchy food but best eaten in the morning or noon. Apart from its inflammatory properties,  It has a high glycemic  index and should be avoided at night.  Diabetics in particular should not make this food their favourite.   It will cause a spike in blood sugar while we sleep.  So better stay away from yam and all its derivatives during night time.

3.  Garden Egg

Many of us love to eat this sugar-free and low calorie food, which is very healthy especially for diabetics, however, did did you know that they are brain foods and should at all cost be avoided at night?  Yes they do interfere with sleep, and those that suffer pain may experience more pain, if they taken garden egg close to bed time.

4.  Cocoa

Bitter cocoa is among the healthiest foods due to its nutrient density.  I love a cup of  hot cocoa in the morning, in fact, on certain occasions I take as much as three large cups and still desiring for more.  That is me with cocoa, but when it is getting to bedtime, its No No to cocoa, because it will interfere with sleep, apart from the presence of caffeine, several others nutrients in cocoa seem to disrupt sleep even when milk and honey is added, it still does not work.

5.  Coffee

Black coffee with its aroma is healthy and helps burn fat.  It is better taken in the morning, the same thing with green and black tea.  All these have high caffeine content and would rather have you active than sleep.  Though they are healthy, but  better to avoid them at bedtime.

6.  Chicken

Never try chicken whether fried, roast and steamed before bedtime.  Chicken meat is goes through long chain digestion and will place much stress on the intestine.  There are occasions when I work up with a fever because I ignorantly ate chicken meat before bedtime.  No matter the temptation or enticing works to persuade you to consume chicken meat before bedtime, especially among the elderly folk, never yield to such temptation because, it will do you more harm than good.  It is a healthy food rich in protein but better to be avoided at night.  Red meat is also in this category.  These foods are not easily digestible.

7.  Beans

Beans is a healthy food that helps the body build and replace dead cells, however, it is a gas forming food and should not form part of your bed time meal.  They are best taken in the morning.  Beans requires plenty of water for digestion and may place stress on the intestine during sleep when much water may not be available to aid its digestion.

8.  High Sugary fruits

Most fruits high in sugar are healthy and natural way of getting sugar and fructose, however, they are taken taken with caution.  Fruits in this category include pawpaw, citrus, apples and others.  They are quite healthy but if taken in high amount at night will raise your blood sugar.  A raised blood sugar will not allow you to have a smooth flowing sleep.  So better avoid too much sugary fruits at night, as there is not going to be any workout at night to burn the excess sugar.

9.  Avocados

This is a healthy fat much revered for its nutrient density.  You may have a different experience with avocado, but one thing I have realized is they are best in the morning.  It is a superfood, but if taken in before bedtime.  You will need extra hours for the healthy fat in the fruit to circulate to your brain because it is a brain food.  It helps the brain prepare sleep, it feeds the brain with good fat.  So it is best to have this super food do its work in the morning and during the day, so as to prepare you for a smooth flowing sleep.

10.  Bitter Cola

Lovers of Bitter cola beware, the bitter fruit is a healthy and medicinal fruit that cures so many ailments, but did anyone tell you, it is high in caffeine.  Definitely, caffeine is not a good friend of quality sleep.  Unfortunately for some of us like myself, even when this healthy food is taken in the morning, it still affects my sleep at night.  It is still active at night and would keep me awake than sleep when others are sleeping.  However if it works the other way for you, you may have to consider it.

11.  Fried Food

Whether it is fried fish, meat, potatoes, or whatever, all fried foods carries more oil which makes them very difficult for digestion.  Fried foods are not healthy in any way, but if you must indulge in fried food, never let it be before bed time.

Finally, It is good to avoid taking your bath just before bed time, more and more research are discovering that though regular bathing is a healthy way but not immediately before bed time,  it exposes you to cold and cause the arteries to dilate which may result in other health emergencies especially among the aged.  It is also necessary to avoid drinking too much water or other fluids at night as you keep going out to pass urine several times before dawn.