Does eating late-night snacks increase your risk of cancer? What should I do if I'm really hungry in the middle of the night? Here are 5 recommended types of food

When I check my phone in the middle of the night, the thing I fear most is not a clip from a horror movie, but a food video! After all, it has been five or six hours since dinner, and it is time for my stomach to start to empty. Whether to have a midnight snack is a soul-searching question that many people who sleep late face every day.

However, unlike the saying that "three meals a day need to be eaten on time to be healthy", this extra meal has many sins: it is unhealthy, not only makes you gain weight, but also causes cancer!

Does this mean that when we are hungry at midnight, we can only comfort ourselves by swallowing our saliva? If we are really too hungry to fall asleep in the middle of the night, what should we do?

01 Eating midnight snacks does not cause cancer

There is currently no research on whether eating midnight snacks can cause cancer, but if you eat midnight snacks too late and eat too much, it can cause heartburn.

Heartburn is not actually a discomfort in the heart, but rather discomfort caused by stomach acid reflux into the esophagus, which irritates the esophagus. If you have the habit of eating late-night snacks frequently and always eat a full stomach before going to bed, you may experience stomach acid reflux, and long-term repeated irritation will increase the risk of esophageal cancer.

Therefore, for healthy people, if you eat a midnight snack occasionally, it is not a big problem, just be careful not to eat too much. For patients with gastroesophageal reflux problems, it is best not to eat after dinner, because this

May stimulate acid reflux and worsen symptoms of the condition.

02 There is a lot of knowledge in late night snacks, so forget about these five categories

Although it's okay to have a midnight snack once in a while, you can't just eat anything. There are five types of food that are not suitable for a midnight snack.

① Processed meat products

Sausages, ham, bacon, and cured sausages are all processed meat products. Try not to eat them as midnight snacks, and reduce the frequency of consumption at other times.

As early as 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) under the World Health Organization classified processed meat products as Class 1 carcinogens, which means that there is sufficient evidence to show that processed meat products have a carcinogenic risk to humans. In addition, the salt content and calorie content of this type of food are

It is not low, and eating it as a midnight snack is not conducive to weight control.

② Cakes, desserts, milk tea

Many families prepare snacks such as small cakes to fill their stomachs when they are suddenly hungry but haven’t cooked yet. However, these foods are not a good choice for midnight snacks. These foods are not only high in calories, but also contain trans fatty acids. Regular intake of trans fatty acids increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. [1]

So how do you tell whether food contains trans fatty acids?

If the following information is marked in the food ingredient list, it means that it contains trans fatty acids: non-dairy creamer, margarine, artificial butter, hydrogenated vegetable oil, refined vegetable oil, margarine, creamer, shortening, cocoa butter substitute, etc.

Most cake and dessert products contain trans fatty acids, such as the one shown below:

▲Image source: e-commerce platform

However, some people may wonder after looking at the nutritional information table: Why is the trans fatty acid content written as "0"?

▲Image source: e-commerce platform

Because my country's "General Rules for Nutrition Labeling of Prepackaged Foods" stipulates that as long as ingredients containing trans fatty acids are used, the content of trans fatty acids must be marked in the nutrition information table. However, when the content of trans fatty acids is ≤0.3%, it means that the content of trans fatty acids is very small, so "0" g can be marked on the nutrition information table.

Therefore, if you clearly see ingredients containing trans fatty acids in the ingredient list, but the nutritional label shows "0", don't be surprised. You should know that this does not mean that there is no trans fatty acid, it just means that the content is small.

③ Fried chicken

A classic line from a Korean drama: "On a snowy night, fried chicken and beer go really well together!" It's romantic, but it's actually not recommended to eat this at night!

The mouth-watering golden appearance of fried chicken comes from the Maillard reaction after the batter is fried at high temperature; and the irresistible aroma is mainly composed of carbonyl compounds (enals) produced by oil under high temperature conditions. [2]

Fried foods are not only high in fat and calories, but also cause the loss of nutrients such as vitamin B and vitamin E, and produce carcinogens such as benzopyrene and trans fatty acids, which are not good for health and increase the risk of obesity and other diseases.

④ Alcoholic beverages

That's right, not only fried chicken, but also beer, or in other words, it's best not to drink any alcohol! Let me emphasize again that no matter how much alcohol you drink, it is harmful to your health! "Moderate drinking is good for health" does not exist.

A study published in the international academic journal The Lancet shows that drinking in moderation increases the risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, fatal hypertension and other diseases. In addition, acetaldehyde, which is related to alcohol intake, was listed as a Class I carcinogen by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2012.

Drinking alcohol not only damages the liver, but also increases the risk of liver cancer, oral cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer. [3]

⑤ Sweet drinks

If you can't drink alcohol, how about a bottle of non-alcoholic Happy Fat House Water? No way!

Excessive intake of added sugar not only increases the risk of tooth decay, but also increases the risk of obesity and gout. The sugar content of sweet drinks is not low. For example, the one in the picture below, a certain brand of yogurt that many people think is relatively healthy, actually has a high sugar content. If you drink 250ml, you will drink about 16g of sugar.

▲Image source: e-commerce platform

The Chinese Dietary Guidelines recommend that the daily intake of added sugar per person should not exceed 25g. A box of sweetened beverages can almost reach 64% of the recommended amount, and if you eat other sugary foods, it is easy to exceed the limit. [4]

How to tell if it contains added sugar?

If you see these words in the ingredient list, you should pay attention: white sugar, rock sugar, maltose, brown sugar, brown sugar, fructose, trehalose, honey, XX syrup, etc. These are all added sugars. In addition, if there is milk powder, you should also pay attention, because milk powder also contains sugar.

03 You can choose these 5 types of food for midnight snacks: ① Low GI fruits: such as apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, grapes, grapefruits, and oranges.

② Vegetables that can be eaten raw: cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, and bell peppers.

③ Milk and dairy products: milk, sugar-free yogurt, and low-salt cheese.

④ Nuts (choose one): cashews (7-8 pieces), almonds (7-8 pieces), walnuts (1 walnut with paper shell), melon seeds (a handful in shell).

⑤ Oatmeal: Choose one that only has oats in the ingredient list and has relatively high dietary fiber and protein in the nutritional composition table.

▲Image source: e-commerce platform

If you are too hungry to fall asleep at night, you can choose any combination of the above 5 foods, such as: oatmeal + cherry tomatoes + sugar-free yogurt + cashews.

This combination not only has a strong sense of fullness and a significant effect of satisfying hunger, but also has low calories, and blood sugar is stable after the meal, so there is no need to worry about gaining weight. The time is also important. It is recommended to eat a midnight snack 1 to 2 hours before going to bed. It is best not to eat too much or go to bed right after eating to avoid acid reflux.

Summarize:

Eating midnight snacks itself does not cause cancer. It mainly depends on how you choose. As long as you choose healthy foods and match them reasonably, an occasional midnight snack can be delicious and healthy.

However, I still have to remind everyone, for the sake of your figure and health, try not to develop the habit of eating late-night snacks. Unless there are special circumstances, go to bed early!

References:

[1] Li Yanru, Wu Ya, Feng Yuemei, Yin Jianzhong. Research progress on the relationship between trans fatty acids and chronic non-communicable diseases[J]. Chinese Journal of Disease Control, 2020, v.24(11):98-103.

[2] Chan Jianquan. Food Chemistry (Second Edition) [M]. Beijing. China Agricultural University Press, 2008: 184

[3].Bagnardi V, Rota M, Botteri E, et al. Light alcohol drinking and cancer: a meta-analysis. Ann Oncol. 2013;24(2):301-308. doi:10.1093/annonc/mds337

[4] Chinese Nutrition Society. Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents[M]. People's Medical Publishing House, 2016

Author | Xue Qingxin, member of Chinese Nutrition Society, registered nutrition technician, health manager, public nutritionist

Review | Xu Haiquan, Associate Researcher, Institute of Food and Nutrition Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

This article was first published on the "Science Rumor Refutation Platform"