Dinner after 7pm raises risk of heart attack
Late meal stops blood pressure dropping
EATING late at night is putting millions of people in danger of suffering heart attacks and strokes, experts have warned.
Having a meal within two hours of bedtime keeps the body on ‘high alert’ when it should be winding down, researchers found.
They said adults should ideally eat dinner before 7pm to give the body enough time to relax and blood pressure to drop.
When healthy people go to sleep, their blood pressure drops by at least 10 per cent. But the study of more than 700 people with high blood pressure found that eating within two hours of bedtime meant their levels stayed high.
Experts think this is because eating releases a rush of stress hormones when the body should be starting to relax.
People who do not see their blood pressure fall at night are known as ‘non- dippers’, and have a much higher rate of heart- related death. Latenight eaters were nearly three times more likely to be non-dippers, researchers found.
Dr Ebru Ozpelit, from Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey, tracked 721 people diagnosed with high blood pressure, who had an average age of 53. She found those who ate within two hours of going to bed were 2.8 times more likely to retain high blood pressure overnight.
Some 9.4 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, which is also known as hypertension.
They are already at a higher risk of heart disease, but if their blood pressure does not fall at night, the risk increases
‘Releases a rush of stress hormones’
to a far higher level. Experts estimate that 40 per cent of patients with hypertension are non- dippers – potentially 3.76million people in Britain – putting them at serious risk of major heart problems.
Presenting her results at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Rome, Dr Ozpelit said: ‘If blood pressure doesn’t drop by more than 10 per cent this increases cardiovascular risk and these patients have more heart attacks, strokes and chronic disease.’
But even healthy people with normal blood pressure should take note of the findings, Dr Ozpelit said. ‘How we eat may be as important as what we eat,’ she said.
She advised people not to skip breakfast, eat lunch, and keep dinner to a small meal. ‘Dinner must not be later than seven o’clock in the evening,’ she added.
Previous research has found that an early dinner reduces the risk of breast cancer, lowers blood sugar levels, and helps burn off calories.
Experts think that the body evolved to expect meals much earlier in the day because people went to sleep when it got dark. But nowadays we stay up much later, distracted by the trappings of modern life.
Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘It is normal for blood pressure to reduce overnight, even in people with high blood pressure. However, in some their blood pressure remains elevated throughout the night putting them at potentially higher risk of future complications.’