Many people prefer not to consume carbohydrates in the evening because they are convinced that it leads to gaining weight more easily. According to the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), however, this theory has no solid scientific confirmation: what really makes you fat is an overall caloric excess, which can depend on any food and not just necessarily from the carbohydrates eaten at dinner. There are more recent theories, such as the chronodiet, which study the role of meal times in relation to the circadian rhythm, but these are theories still under exploration and without solid scientific basis. To date, body weight control seems to depend mainly ontotal energy balance and the general quality of the power supply.
What are carbohydrates, what are they and what are they for
THE carbohydratesor sugars, are organic compounds made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, whose progenitor is the glucose. The organism uses them as its main source of energy, to support daily activities, from physical exercise to basic metabolic functions, and assimilates them through nutrition, especially from plant sources such as cereals and its derivatives (such as pasta, bread or rice). According to what is indicated by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, they should cover approximately 45-60% of total daily calorie needs. Beyond this threshold, the extra carbohydrates we ingest are set aside as an energy reserve to be used in the future, in case of sugar deficiency: the body converts them into various forms of accumulation, such as lipids, which constitute the body fator the adipose tissue.
However, one thing must be clarified: not all foods are the same in terms of energy conversion. For example, for the same number of grams, carbohydrates provide more calories than vegetables. This is why it is much easier to exceed your calorie needs with a plate of pasta rather than with a side salad.
What happens if you eat carbohydrates in the evening?
The belief that consuming carbohydrates at dinner makes you gain weight follows a very precise logic: in the evening we are more sedentary and, consequently, we will need less energy than during daylight hours. This is why many people think that carbohydrates eaten at dinner are more easily converted into energy reserves, such as fat.
The scientific evidence, however, they do not support this belief. Weight gain depends on a overall caloric surpluswhich is independent from the food that generated it: if we eat carbohydrates for dinner but still remain within the limits of our daily needs, weight gain will not necessarily occur. This thesis is also supported byHigher Institute of Health (ISS), which underlines the importance of consuming carbohydrates in portions appropriate to one’s body, age and level of physical activity, highlighting how eliminating them from the diet or consuming them only during the day for fear of gaining weight are beliefs without scientific basis. Furthermore, contrary to what one might think, It is not true that the body does not produce energy during the night: while we sleep, the metabolism remains active. Some studies also suggest that evening carbohydrate consumption may have positive effects on sleep quality. In fact, the intake of carbohydrates promotes the passage of tryptophan to the brain, an essential amino acid involved in the synthesis of serotonin, a molecule associated with well-being and relaxation.
A systematic review published in Journal of the American Nutrition Association reports that, compared to daytime meals, consuming carbohydrates in the evening hours could lead to higher levels of blood sugari.e. a higher concentration of glucose in the blood. However, in the text no evidence is provided that demonstrate a direct conversion of this circulating sugar into fat, overnight.
Possible future prospects: the chronodiet
However, it is important to remember that science is constantly evolving and that in the future there may be new evidence on this topic. As reported by a study published by the magazine Clinical Nutritionat the center of the debate we find the concept of chronodieta nutritional model that attaches great importance to When you eat. According to this theory, the assimilation of nutrients strongly depends on the circadian rhythm, i.e. the biological clock that regulates various physiological mechanisms during the 24-hour period.
During the day, in fact, the body releases hormones and molecules in different quantities depending on the time, and this could influence the body’s response to meals differently. Although these biological mechanisms are well documented, there is insufficient data to validate the chronodiet hypotheses. However, the most consolidated current evidence suggests that the overall energy balance and the quality of the diet remain the same determining factors in body weight control.
