Well, even I have to say that is a worrying headline. Who doesn't like a little snack at night? I know it is something I need to control - but can it really hurt you?
A study by the Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey said that it "almost triples the risk of developing a deadly form of high blood pressure."
They claim that late night food binges trigger the release of hormones that raise blood pressure and affect our internal body clock. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a major trigger for heart attacks and strokes.
During sleep our blood pressure drops - even among severe sufferers of high blood pressure. It is a natural occurence. But the study found that late eaters were 2.8 times more likely to be "non-dippers" whose blood pressure did not fall.
The lead researcher - a Doctor Ebru Ozpelit - says: "if blood pressure does not drop by more than ten per cent this inncreases cardiovascular risk - and these patients have more heart attacks, strokes and chronic disease. How we eat may be as important as what we eat."
The study concluded that adults should avoid scoffing two hours before bedtime and ideally not after 7pm, and this was reported to the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Rome.
So next time you reach for that snack, bowl of cereal, tub of ice cream - think about your body!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment