What To Eat When You’re Craving Sugar At Night
Eating late at night or eating just before bed can be very harmful to our bodies for a multitude of reasons. Late-night cravings can be bad enough, but they are made even worse when what we crave is sugar. Ideally, you want to avoid eating anything late at night, but this is easier said than done, and late-night sugar cravings can be hard to shake off.
So what to eat when you are craving sugar late at night?
This article will look at foods you can eat to satisfy any late-night cravings you might be getting for sugar.
Why Are Nighttime Sugar Cravings Bad For You?
Sugar can be tough to resist, especially late at night when you might be feeling hungry or tired. Sugar, when consumed in moderation, is not bad for us, but excess sugar consumption can negatively affect our bodies and health. From diabetes to weight gain, sugar is a significant cause of many severe and dangerous health conditions.
Consumption of sugar late at night is even more dangerous as, other than weight gain and diabetes, it can also mess with your sleep.
Sugar’s effect on sleep
Sugar can give you a good boost of sudden energy, but you don’t need that at night just before you want to sleep. Plus, a drop in blood sugar when you get a sugar crash afterwards will cause a cortisol reaction and restless sleep. Disturbances in your sleep patterns can lead you to be tired the next day and affect your daily life very negatively.
Bad teeth
We all know sugar is terrible for our teeth. Sugar consumption just before bed can lead to the deterioration of our teeth and increase the chances of cavities and tooth decay.
How To Satisfy Sugar Cravings At Night
Eating late at night isn’t ideal, but sometimes to satisfy the cravings, it won’t be the end of the world if you have something.
Fruit
Fruit is one of the best options for you when you are looking for something sweet at night. Fruits high in sugar, like mangoes and apples, can be harmful in larger quantities, but they are always better than eating processed sugary foods. Berries are a great late-night snack as they can satisfy your sugar cravings and don’t contain very high amounts of sugar.
Yogurt
A very nutritious and low-calorie food, yogurt makes a great late-night snack. Yogurt itself isn’t very sweet unless it is sweetened, but unsweetened yogurt is much better for you. If you are someone who wants a sweeter yogurt, always look to sweeten it with fruits or honey, as they are much better than regular sugar. Yogurt can help fill you up and provide a perfect partner for sweeter foods like fruit.
High fiber foods
Foods that are high in fiber are great for late-night snacks. Fiber is good for you at night for many reasons, but especially because it will help you maintain a normal blood sugar level. Eating something made from oats or some low-sugar cereal makes for a great late-night snack. These foods also go along very well with sweeter foods like fruit.
Healthier alternatives to unhealthy foods
Sometimes the cravings you have can only be satisfied with the particular tastes you are craving. For example, if you are craving chocolate at night, you would want chocolate more than anything. In a situation like this, it is always best to have alternatives to these foods that are overall healthier. So for chocolate, dark chocolate is a nutritious and healthier alternative that gives you the taste of chocolate but isn’t that bad for you.
Vegan alternatives
Nowadays, finding vegan food isn’t very hard, and online recipes are readily available. Vegan alternatives to traditional foods are generally more healthy as they use more plant-based or natural substances to make the foods. From vegan burgers to a vegetable stir fry recipe, the internet can provide you with many different healthy foods to eat at night.
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