It is well known that dinners should be light and, above all, based on foods such as fruitsVegetables, Wholegrain Products, dry fruit and of seed or legumes. However, despite this general consensus, much of the population still does not give the necessary importance to this food of the day. “Dinner to get out of the way.” This is still the mentality of many people. Red meat, sausages, chocolate, carbohydrates … Everything is worth it for the night, in the hours before the rest?
red meat
In principle, it is not advisable to include red meat in dinner. “It is a type of food that may be present in our diet, but given the information we are receiving from studies linking high meat consumption with some diseases, it should not be a food to recommend to the population”, Indicates Giuseppe Russolillo, president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
The expert clarifies, however, that this does not mean that eating meat is harmful to our health. “It means that right now the population is taking amounts of red meat far above the needs and what marks a healthy diet. Therefore, it is advisable to reduce their consumption. ”
fruits
As already mentioned, the fruits they constitute a very important part of what is meant by healthy dinner. In fact, many people end their day eating only fruit. In this way, Can excessive consumption of it be counterproductive?
“There is no contraindication to taking five or six pieces a day. A healthy person can take all he wants. It is a food with which it is necessary to promote its consumption in the diet,” Russolillo replies. People who would have a problem with this food are those with problems diabetes and that they take large amounts of fruit on an empty stomach, although, as the dietitian claims, “they would be one-off and isolated cases.”
nutritional supplements
It is said that nutritional supplements like Vitamin C, Better in the morning than at night. What is true about this? The expert warns that it is not good to take multivitamin supplements: “It has been found that unless there is a deficiency diagnosed in a blood test, the pattern and supplementation of these supplements is not justified.” Thus, the nutritionist insists on the importance of following a varied diet in plant-based foods that provide the necessary micronutrients for the body such as vitamins.
Inlaid
Like red meats, it is not advisable to include in this meal of the day (or in any other) sausages such as sausage, chorizo or whip. In the face of such products, it is better to be cautious. Russolillo comments that, for example, sausages could be consumed once every one or two weeks for dinner. Of course in a totally moderate amount.
carbohydrates
“¿?carbohydrates at dinner? Never in life “, this is what has always been thought. The nutrition expert states that it is true that some recent research shows the chronutrition, According to which, has mIt makes sense to eat more energetic foods in the morning, when we need them most for daily physical activity. And, at night, leave the nutrients that have a more plastic, regulatory and repair function of our body.
“Carbohydrates and fats have a mainly energetic function and proteins, Plastic and repair. Therefore, we would consume the first group in the first fraction of the day; and protein-rich foods, starting in the late evening, ”says Russolillo, who adds that this does not mean that we completely eradicate carbohydrates from dinners, but let us take them to a lesser extent.
In this sense, he expresses that “that the dish of pasta, rice or boiled potato is not included in the dinner, but at noon. In the evening, we take the opportunity to take the ration of protein food, which we can accompany with a small garnish of foods rich in carbohydrates such as peas, potatoes, wholemeal bread … “.
Chocolate
First of all, you need to distinguish what chocolate it is. “If we talk about what is mixed with substitutes and emulsions of fats and sugars, it is not advisable to eat because the high consumption of sugar in the population has detrimental effectsRussolillo points out.
However, the specialist explains that if the chocolate it is of high purity (Between 75% and 80% pure cocoa), can have positive effects. In this regard, he explains that “it has been seen that high-purity cocoa – which is also very bitter and has nothing to do with the traditional chocolate we know – has a number of substances called plant phytochemicals or bioactive compounds that have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health and high blood pressure”.
legumes
Russolillo notes that the legumes can be taken three or four times a week and cook them, mostly, with vegetables. Only occasionally is it advisable to cook with food of animal origin. “It’s not the same to eat beans with bacon and chorizo today in 2020, 100 years ago, when people’s physical activity had absolutely nothing to do with today. Before, more calories were eaten, but much more energy was also being spent than now, so this vegetable and sausage dish could be more justified then. ”