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Whenever I wanted something light, I used to eat salad for dinner. It's quick to make and lightweight in terms of calories—as long as you don't drown it in tons of dressing.
However, it is not easy to digest, as I recently learned from a nutrition expert, who strongly advised me against eating so much raw food in the evening.
"Raw foods such as salad contain a lot of fiber, which is difficult to digest and, if eaten too late, can put a strain on the digestive tract," Dr. Maximilian Schubert, Medical Director at the Mayrlife Medical Health Resort, tells me. "It can lead to bloating and discomfort. This in turn could have a negative impact on sleep quality."
Schubert recommends not only avoiding salad in the evening, but also any form of raw food. This includes raw vegetables, meat, and fish. And nuts too, by the way, which many people would probably not have classified as raw food at first (me either). But they are, as long as they are not roasted.
Fruit is particularly unsuitable in the evening. "In addition to the fact that it is usually eaten raw, it also contains a lot of fruit sugar (fructose), which can lead to digestive problems such as bloating and abdominal pain in some people. The high sugar content can also affect blood sugar levels and therefore disturb sleep," he says.
Of course, salad, vegetables, fruit (in moderation), nuts, meat and fish are healthy foods in general. Schubert's recommendations therefore only apply after a certain time of day.
"Raw food should therefore not be eaten after 4:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m. at the latest," he recommends. This applies across the board, regardless of your individual bedtime.
“From late afternoon onwards, you don't have the digestive power to digest these foods properly,” he says.
According to Schubert, several studies that have investigated the effects of raw food on health also prove that eating salad and raw food in general in the evening is not the best idea.
"A study published in the journal Food & Function shows that raw foods can lead to digestive problems and bloating due to their high fiber content. Another study from 2017, from the international journal Gut, which specializes in research on gastroenterological and hepatological topics, also showed that a raw food diet can change the intestinal flora and lead to significant digestive problems," says Schubert. “The journal Sleep Medicine Reviews has also investigated the connection between food intake and sleep quality. This paper summarizes several studies and shows that meals that are difficult to digest in the evening can disrupt sleep.”
Generally speaking, boiled or steamed vegetables are easier to digest and are therefore more suitable in the evening than salad for dinner. Schubert recommends foods like steamed vegetables, light soups, and easily digestible proteins such as fish or chicken.
This story was first published in Vogue Germany.
