A Healthy Dinner

All meals are important, including dinner, as the food you eat can affect liver and sleep functions in particular.

Although we often make good resolutions, it is not always easy to stick to a balanced and healthy eating plan. Do you have a healthy dinner ?

All meals are important, including dinner, as the foods you eat can affect liver and sleep functions in particular, and this can also lead to obesity.

In this post we explain the keys to a healthy dinner that brings great health benefits immediately and also improves the appearance. We also recommend different dishes so that you can reap the benefits today.

Advantages and disadvantages of the dinner

The last meal of the day is important so as not to negatively affect the quality of sleep. It is not recommended to go to bed on an empty stomach, but under no circumstances should dinner be lavish, as the energy cannot be broken down afterwards  .

Therefore, an early, light dinner is recommended .

The following health effects can occur with large, late meals that also contain unhealthy foods  :

• Insomnia, inadequate rest, and fatigue the next day
• Dark circles and dull skin
• Fluid retention
• constipation
• Mucus build-up on waking
• Liver and digestive problems, heartburn, gas, etc.
• overweight as well as underweight in the long term

What time is the recommended time for a healthy dinner?

When we go to bed, the body begins to rest and the cells are regenerated. In traditional Chinese medicine, each organ is assigned a certain time, which is very important for regeneration: 

• 11pm – 1am: gallbladder
• 1 – 3 a.m .: liver
• 3 – 5 a.m .: lungs
• 5 a.m. – 7 a.m .: Large intestine
• 7 a.m. – 9 a.m .: stomach

In order to respect this biological rhythm of the organism, digestion of the Lord’s Supper should be completed by 11 p.m. at the latest. The digestive process takes between 2 and 3 hours, so  the best time to have dinner is before 8 p.m.

What foods should a healthy dinner contain?

A healthy evening meal should include the following foods:

• Vegetable foods,  preferably cooked, if digestion is good, also raw (e.g. salads), especially in the warm season.
• Low-fat proteins:  eggs, fish, legumes, seitan, cream cheese or yogurt, dried fruits, mushrooms
• Optimal and very little: starch or cereals,  e.g. whole grain bread, pasta, whole grain rice, potatoes, bananas

• Healthy fats (little): cold-pressed vegetable oils, dried fruits, egg yolks, yogurt, avocado.

What is not good for the evening meal?

• Too much starch or cereals as these are great sources of energy.
• sugar
• Sweet fruits, as these can also lead to obesity if consumed with dinner.
• Citrus fruits like oranges or mandarins, as these can affect the quality of sleep.
• Summer fruits rich in water, such as watermelon or melon, as these make digestion difficult.
• Saturated fat (margarine, pastries, deep-fried, red meat, etc.) as these put a strain on the liver and gall bladder.

• Too much salt as it can cause fluid retention.
• Stimulants: coffee, tea, cola, etc.

Examples of healthy dinner

• Cream of vegetable soup with some oat flakes and a grated hard egg
• Vegetables with mushrooms and a wholemeal toast
• Natural yogurt with banana and a handful of nuts
• Vegetable soup with noodles and fried fish
• Vegetable shake, gazpacho or egg dishes
• Cream soup with legumes and fried pears
• Vegetables with a little potatoes and fried chicken
• Green salad with cream cheese and seeds
• Corn flatbread with guacamole
• Green lentil salad with grated carrots and a little mayonnaise

Final remark

If you eat earlier on some days, or if you still do activities afterwards, the amount of starch and cereals can be increased slightly. For example, a whole grain pizza with vegetables and mushrooms or a sandwich with lettuce, tomato and cheese could be on the menu.

If the evening meals are healthy and balanced during the week, you can make an exception at the weekend.

Images provided by cobalt123, robbplusjessie and David-Robert-Wright