A late-night snack attack that’s more like a nightmare.
The jury’s still out on late-night snacking: some foods boost health while you sleep, while others cause not-so-sweet dreams.
And while a little meal before bedtime may curb your hunger in the short term, eating at the wrong time could increase the risk of a severe disease that causes permanent damage.
Americans love to snack, although more research points to negative health consequences, from weight gain to a negative impact on liver health.
A new study published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology examined nearly 200,000 people across three studies and found that late-night snacking significantly raises the risk of liver disease over time.
The late-night eaters — defined as those who ate after dinner or after bedtime — experienced an increased risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) or cirrhosis in an average follow-up of 16 years.
Among the late-night eaters, the study found a 20% to 30% increase in all forms of liver disease compared to those who didn’t have late-night snacks.
The liver has intrinsic circadian clocks that coordinate metabolism, so the researchers explored how much of an impact the timing of meals and snacks has on the health of the organ.
“We’re interested in changing the timing of eating in a way that could make a difference in health without changing the composition of what people eat,” lead author Dr. Robert Wilechansky told The Independent.
MASLD is one of the common types of liver disease, occurring when fat builds up in the liver, which can cause inflammation over time.
While the condition may not cause symptoms, it can cause more serious liver diseases without treatment, such as severe liver fibrosis or cirrhosis.
Cirrhosis is a late-stage liver disease where healthy liver tissue is scarred and permanently damaged, preventing the liver from working properly to make protein, fight infections, clean the blood and help digest food.
Symptoms of cirrhosis can include fatigue, jaundiced skin, easy bruising, severe itching, gallstones and kidney failure.
Despite a significant number of the study participants showing increased liver disease, Wilechansky noted that “of the people who developed fatty liver disease, only a small fraction develop serious forms of the condition like liver cirrhosis.”
The team also found that avoiding late-night snacking in the hours before bedtime can help lower the risk of MASLD, cirrhosis and other liver diseases.
The team believes that the findings show that not just what we eat matters, but timing as well — similar to other lifestyle habits that affect health.
“We are seeing over and over again that the timing of behaviors, whether it’s sleep, eating or exercise, really matters,” study co-author Dr. Andrew W. McHill told The Independent.
Eating at night, when the body’s internal clock is focused on sleep, reduces the body’s ability to metabolize food efficiently.
Over time, this can lead to poor health outcomes, including obesity, diabetes and now poor liver health.
