You’ve been eating your meals all wrong – food experts reveal the exact time of day you should eat everything
THE perfect meal is all in the timing.
And it’s not just how well oiled you are in the kitchen — what you eat, and when, can impact your health.
We told this week how scientists have revealed 11am is the perfect time to eat chocolate, according to food scientist Natalie Alibrandi.
She says the caffeine and sugar will spur you on until lunchtime. But did you know it could also help you lose weight?
Stats from choc maker Galaxy say that only one in five of us will scoff choc bars in the morning.
So when’s the best time to tuck in to your favourite foods?
From cereal for dinner and kiwi fruit before bed, these are the best foods to eat and the optimal time to eat them.
ICE CREAM: 6.30AM
EATING frozen foods the minute you wake up can improve your mental prowess.
A Japanese study from Kyorin University in Tokyo found people who ate ice cream were more alert and also less irritable.
Scientists reasoned that the coldness stimulated high-frequency Alpha waves in the brain.
London’s Institute of Psychiatry found in 2005 that ice cream gave you the same feeling of pleasure as winning the lottery.
So what better way to start the morning?
EGGS AND MEAT: 7AM
PROTEIN-rich foods like eggs in the morning or after a workout can help you feel fuller for longer and reduce your calorie intake throughout the day.
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who ate eggs for breakfast consumed fewer calories at lunch than those who ate a carb-heavy breakfast.
Another study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition told how eating eggs post-work-out improves your results.
Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan, found that eating protein-rich foods like fish, chicken or beef, in the morning increases muscle mass.
COFFEE AND CAKE: 10AM
THE IDEAL time for a caffeine boost and an indulgent snack is mid-morning.
Having a cup of coffee as soon as you wake up can make you feel anxious as you already have high levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, according to The Women’s Health Body Clock Diet book.
But halfway to lunchtime, stress in our bodies decreases, making it the perfect time for a boost.
And you might as well enjoy your coffee with a small slice of cake or pastry.
A study from Tel Aviv University in Israel found that people who eat snacks in the morning gain less weight than those who don’t.
Study author Dr Daniela Jakubowicz said: “If you eat what you like, you decrease cravings. The cake — a small piece — is important.”
CHOCOLATE: 11AM
EATING chocolate – as long as it’s before lunch — can actually help you lose weight.
In fact eating dairy as a dessert can lead to early death, said one study in the Journal of the American Heart Association last year.
A Spanish study showed women who ate 100g of sugar in the morning burned more body fat and had a lower blood sugar level than those who didn’t.
SOUP: 12 NOON
IF you eat a low calorie soup half an hour before your lunch, you could lose weight.
A study found that those who slurped soup before a main meal were likely to eat 20 per cent less calories overall.
The study, by Penn State University, found that the flavour of soup did not impact the results.
PASTA: 12.20PM
A 2021 study found eating the bulk of calories earlier in the day increases weight loss and metabolic health.
So you are best to pack the ‘naughty’ foods in before you reach the afternoon.
One Brazilian study even showed that eating the bulk of your day’s carbs at lunch while following a healthy diet led to losing the pounds.
After eating high carb lunches for eight weeks, participants in the study noted “significant” fat loss.
BANANA: 5.30PM
AFTER a stressful day at work, it might be an idea to unpeel a banana on your way home.
The fruit is rich in minerals potassium and magnesium which are both known to reduce stress hormone cortisol in the body.
Potassium also helps your muscles relax, making the fruit the perfect snack to unwind.
Bananas are also rich in serotonin which can help lift your mood.
CEREAL: 7PM
A BOWL of cereal for dinner could be the perfect boost to set you up for bed.
Amino acid tryptophan in milk when paired with carbohydrates in cereal are the perfect pair for getting you to sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
Paired with calcium and magnesium in milk, this makes for a perfect winding down dinner.
Fortified cereal is even better as small, nutrient dense meals is said to be good for heart health and muscle mass, according to a 2015 study in journal Nutrients.
KIWI FRUIT: 9.30PM
IF you struggle to sleep, then a kiwi fruit an hour before bed is the perfect snack.
One four-week study asked adults to eat two of the furry fruits before bed.
At the end of the study fruit eaters fell asleep 42 per cent quicker than those who didn’t eat anything.
The exotic fruit is high in serotonin which helps increase sleep hormone melatonin in the body.