ASK DR LIBBY

Email your questions for Dr Libby to ask.drlibby@fairfaxmedia.co.nz. Please note, only a selection of questions can be answered.

ginger slice or even drink it with lemon juice and a little bit of a honey and warm water as a soothing drink. Hi Jay. The (incorrect) idea is that if you eat too late and go to bed on a full stomach, your body’s metabolism will slow down and instead of burning off the food you just ate, you’ll turn it all into fat and gain weight. Your body digests and uses energy via the same pathways morning, noon and night. Food eaten after 6pm doesn’t magically turn into fat. However, many people feel physically better and sleep better when they have a smaller meal at night and eat earlier but that’s a personal preference. From a digestive perspective it is certainly better not to eat late at night, as this is your body’s time to rest and repair.

The factors that have a major effect on your metabolic rate include your muscle mass and thyroid function, and building muscle mass is essential from the age of 30 onwards, to counteract the natural losses that will otherwise occur.

When it comes to meal frequency it is definitely an individual choice. Some people feel better fuelled when they eat smaller meals more regularly whereas others find it easier or that their hunger is supported with three main meals. Digesting a meal raises metabolism slightly, however multiple studies have compared eating many smaller meals against fewer larger meals and concluded that there is no significant difference on metabolic rate.