Morning or Evening: What is the Best Time to Eat Certain Foods?

To ensure that you make the most of their goodness, eating foods at an optimum time is essential.

There is a right time for every food and a wrong time for some of them. To ensure that you make the most of their goodness eat them at an optimum time.

Curd

Best Time to Eat

During the day, because its assists in digestion, soothes the digestive system and is a probiotic food that strengthens our gut. Also helps keep one alert and perky and beat the afternoon blues.

Worst Time to Eat

Night, but only one is you are prone to cold and cough as it might lead to mucus formation. If you are not prone, any time of the day is good.

Rice

Best Time to Eat

Night as it is an easy to digest food and helps one sleep better too. But just be careful of your portion size please; too big a portion might make you uncomfortable.

Worst Time to Eat

Afternoon, as being refined, it might lead to a sudden sugar rise fol-lowed by a slump, and might also make you sleepy.

Apple

Best Time to Eat

Morning, apple peel has the fibre pectin that helps in bowel movement and prevents constipation. Moreover it also helps eliminate carcinogens.

Worst Time to Eat

No worst time; can be had anytime!

Sugar

Best Time to Eat

Morning, our body’s insulin is more effective in using up sugar in the morning and we can digest it better too, owing to higher metabolism and activity levels.

Worst Time to Eat

Night as the spike in your blood-sugar levels could cause your energy levels to spike and plummet, and this high and low will disrupt your sleep.

Banana

Best Time to Eat

Noon, highly fibrous banana helps in digestion. Moreover it works as natural antacid and helps soothe heartburn and gives sustained, slow energy that can keep you full for a long time. It’s a perfect pre-workout food too.

Worst Time to Eat

Night, eating at night might lead to mucus formation and cold in some susceptible people.

Pulses & Beans

Best Time to Eat

Afternoon and morning, so that they get digested properly and don’t cause gas formation.

Worst Time to Eat

Night, as some people find digesting its high fibre content difficult at night, and might feel some kind of a gastric disturbance.

Walnuts

Best Time to Eat

Night, as a bed time snack, as they help you sleep well. Just pop in a few halves regularly before bedtime as research shows that walnut tends to increase melatonin (a hormone that regulates sleep) in the body.

Worst Time to Eat

No worse time as they pack its of benefits: omega-3 fats, antioxidants, vitamin E and are a known brain boosting food.

Figs & Apricots

Best Time to Eat

Early morning, eating figs and apricots in the morning boosts the metabolism and warms up the digestive system.

Worst Time to Eat

Worst time to eat: Night, eating them at night might lead to indigestion and gas troubles in some people.

Cheese

Best Time to Eat

Earlier in the day, as for vegetarians’ cheese is an excellent protein source. If eaten in moderation it is a good source of calcium too.

Worst Time to Eat

Evening: Being heavy to digest, it can lead to indigestion and weight gain.

Milk

Best Time to Drink

Night, as it helps in inducing sleep. It is rich in the amino acid tryptophan, which helps in the production of the sleep inducing brain chemicals, serotonin and melatonin.

Worst Time to Drink

No bad time, it can be had any time of the day.

Coffee

Best Time to Drink

Morning or afternoon to help kick off sleepiness and give the body a jolt of energy that caffeine rich coffee delivers.

Worst Time to Drink

After 7 pm as caffeine will interfere with your sleep cycle and might even lead to water loss from the body (leading to frequent getting up at night to go to the loo).

Cherries

Best Time to Eat

At night after dinners it is a natural source of melatonin, a hormone our body produces to help us sleep. So great for the suffering from insomnia.

Worst Time to Eat

Afternoon: might just make you sleepy.

(The author is a nutritionist, weight management consultant and health writer based in Delhi. She is the author of Don't Diet! 50 Habits of Thin People (Jaico) and Ultimate Grandmother Hacks: 50 Kickass Traditional Habits for a Fitter You (Rupa).)