Dinner recommendations should fall in line with the concept of optimum nutrition first. Another priority with evening meals is to avoid things that retard, and do things that promote good quality sleep. This includes:
· Avoid drinking caffeine in the evening. For some people who metabolise it slowly it can retard sleep.
· Don’t over hydrate late at night, as you will wake to urinate in the night.
· Eat some starchy carbohydrate as this helps to raise serotonin and melatonin that aid sleep. Good choices include vegetables such as swede, carrots, squash, sweet potato, whole grain rice and quinoa.
· Eat magnesium containing foods as magnesium aids sleep. These include green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds and fish.
· Don’t eat high GL foods before bed such as sweets, candy, dried fruits or desserts.
· Don’t exercise late in the evening.
· Eat good quality protein at night, especially proteins that contain tryptophan and taurine (seafood, scallops, lobster and poultry).
· Be in bed by 10pm and asleep by no later than 10:30pm.
Avoiding food intolerances is another thing that can promote sleep. Food allergy and food intolerances are becoming more widely recognised amongst nutritional and conventional medical practitioners. Food allergies can be quite a serious condition, such as a child having an allergy to nuts and when consuming them they could go in to anaphylactic shock that could be life threatening. Less seriously they could suffer from a runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing or wheezing.
A food allergen causes an immune response whereby IgE antibodies attack the allergen and release histamine which causes the symptoms described above. These IgE mediated food allergies could manifest themselves in conditions such as asthma, eczema or hay fever as well as recurrent colds and infections. Another food mediated immune response is known as a food intolerance. This happens when there is an IgG or IgA response to food associated with degranulation of basophils and mast cells that create inflammation.
Considered to be less severe than a food allergy, food intolerances can manifest as low grade “silent inflammation” with sub clinical symptoms such as brain fog, irritable bowel, headaches or low energy. These IgG mediated food intolerances may also create no outward symptoms at all but can be creating havoc on the inside. Research from the Clinical Institute of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics in Austria have shown that obese children have significantly higher IgG antibodies against certain foods than normal weight children. These IgG antibodies are associated with thickening of the common carotid arteries. The authors state that these findings raise the possibility that IgG mediated food antigens are pathogenetically involved in the development of obesity and atherosclerosis.
The most common food intolerances are wheat, gluten, cow’s milk, eggs, soy and yeast. These foods are found in bread, pasta, bakery products, dairy products and soy products which should be reduced in the diet.
· Avoid drinking caffeine in the evening. For some people who metabolise it slowly it can retard sleep.
· Don’t over hydrate late at night, as you will wake to urinate in the night.
· Eat some starchy carbohydrate as this helps to raise serotonin and melatonin that aid sleep. Good choices include vegetables such as swede, carrots, squash, sweet potato, whole grain rice and quinoa.
· Eat magnesium containing foods as magnesium aids sleep. These include green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds and fish.
· Don’t eat high GL foods before bed such as sweets, candy, dried fruits or desserts.
· Don’t exercise late in the evening.
· Eat good quality protein at night, especially proteins that contain tryptophan and taurine (seafood, scallops, lobster and poultry).
· Be in bed by 10pm and asleep by no later than 10:30pm.
Avoiding food intolerances is another thing that can promote sleep. Food allergy and food intolerances are becoming more widely recognised amongst nutritional and conventional medical practitioners. Food allergies can be quite a serious condition, such as a child having an allergy to nuts and when consuming them they could go in to anaphylactic shock that could be life threatening. Less seriously they could suffer from a runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing or wheezing.
A food allergen causes an immune response whereby IgE antibodies attack the allergen and release histamine which causes the symptoms described above. These IgE mediated food allergies could manifest themselves in conditions such as asthma, eczema or hay fever as well as recurrent colds and infections. Another food mediated immune response is known as a food intolerance. This happens when there is an IgG or IgA response to food associated with degranulation of basophils and mast cells that create inflammation.
Considered to be less severe than a food allergy, food intolerances can manifest as low grade “silent inflammation” with sub clinical symptoms such as brain fog, irritable bowel, headaches or low energy. These IgG mediated food intolerances may also create no outward symptoms at all but can be creating havoc on the inside. Research from the Clinical Institute of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics in Austria have shown that obese children have significantly higher IgG antibodies against certain foods than normal weight children. These IgG antibodies are associated with thickening of the common carotid arteries. The authors state that these findings raise the possibility that IgG mediated food antigens are pathogenetically involved in the development of obesity and atherosclerosis.
The most common food intolerances are wheat, gluten, cow’s milk, eggs, soy and yeast. These foods are found in bread, pasta, bakery products, dairy products and soy products which should be reduced in the diet.