It is well known that meals should be light and, above all, based on foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, NUTS and seed or legumes. However, despite this general consensus, a large part of the population still does not give the necessary importance to this meal of the day. – Dinner to get out of trouble. This is still the mentality of many people. Red meat, sausages, chocolate, carbohydrates … It is valid for the night, in the previous hours pause?
red meat
In principle, it is not convenient to include red meat for dinner. “It is a type of food that may be present in our diet, but given the information we receive from studies linking high meat consumption to some diseases, it should not be a food recommended to the population“Says Giuseppe Russolillo, the president Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
However, the expert clarifies that this does not mean that eating meat is harmful to our health. “It means that at the moment, the population takes quantities of red meat far beyond the needs and what marks a healthy diet. For this reason, it is recommended to reduce consumption.
fruits
As already mentioned, fruits they are a very important part of what is meant by a healthy dinner. In fact, many people end up eating only fruit. In this regard, Can its excessive consumption be counterproductive?
“There is no contraindication to taking five or six pieces a day. A healthy person can take as much as he wants. It is a food with which it is necessary to stimulate its consumption in the diet “, Russolillo answers. 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 states, “they would be specific and isolated cases.”
Nutritional supplements
Nutritional supplements such as C vitamin, 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 regimen and supplementation of these supplements are not justified.” Thus, the nutritionist insists on the importance of following a varied diet of herbal foods, which provide the necessary micronutrients to the body, such as vitamins.
incorporated
Like red meat, it is not advisable to integrate sausages such as salami, chorizo or fuet in this meal of the day (or in any other). In the face of this type of product, it is better to be careful. Russolillo says, for example, you could eat sausages once a week or two at dinner. Yes, in a totally moderate amount.
carbohydrates
“¿carbohydrates at dinner? Never ever, ”he always thought. The nutritionist says it’s true that some recent research shows that cronoutritia, according to which, has mIt makes sense to eat more energetic foods in the morning, when we have the greatest need for daily physical activity. And, for the night, leave the nutrients that have a more plastic function, regulating and repairing our body.
“Carbohydrates and fats have a predominantly energetic function and protein, plastic and restorative. Therefore, we would consume the first group in the first part of the day; and high-protein foods, starting late in the evening, ”says Russolillo, who adds that this does not mean that we completely eradicate carbohydrates from meals, but we take them to a lesser extent.
In this sense, it is stated that “the fact that preparations for pasta, rice or boiled potatoes are not included in dinner, but at lunch. At night, let’s take the opportunity to have a portion of protein foods, 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 is. “If we talk about the one mixed with substitutes and emulsions of fat and sugar, it is not convenient to ingest it, because high sugar consumption in the population has harmful effectsRussolillo points out.
However, the specialist states that if it is chocolate it is of great 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 hypertension“.
vegetables
Russolillo says that vegetables They can be taken three or four times a week and cook them, especially with vegetables. Only from time to time, it is advisable to cook them with food of animal origin. “It is not the same to have some beans with bacon and chorizo today in 2020 than 100 years ago, when people’s physical activity had absolutely nothing to do with now. Before, more calories were consumed, but much more energy was used than now, so that the plate with legumes and blood sausages could be more justified then ”.