{"id":437957,"date":"2026-01-26T05:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T05:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/437957\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T05:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T05:42:08","slug":"gastroenterologist-explains-why-dinner-time-is-as-important-as-dinner-plate-early-dinner-can-help-hormones-and","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/437957\/","title":{"rendered":"Gastroenterologist explains why dinner time is as important as dinner plate: \u2018Early dinner can help hormones and\u2026\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Staying healthy is a comprehensive endeavour that goes beyond following the right diet and exercising. Smaller things, such as when we have our dinner, play a bigger role.<\/p>\n

\"HavingHaving dinner by 7pm helps in better digestion, shares Dr Sethi. (Unsplash)<\/p>\n

Also Read | Fortis gastroenterologist says if Indians had 10 raisins daily it would ease constipation, bloating, boost heart health<\/a><\/p>\n

Taking to Instagram on January 26, Dr Saurabh Sethi, a California-based gastroenterologist trained in AIIMS, Harvard, and Stanford Universities, explained the health benefits of an early dinner<\/a> and shared by what time we should have it.<\/p>\n

Drawbacks of having dinner late<\/p>\n

Dr Sethi shared the following disadvantages of having dinner late:<\/p>\n

Insulin<\/a> sensitivity drops by 30% to 40%Fat burning slows downSleep hormones (melatonin) clash with digestion<\/p>\n

\u201cThis happens because your body keeps digesting when it is time to repair and detox,\u201d elaborated the gastroenterologist. \u201cThat’s why you wake up heavy, bloated, or still tired – even after 8 hours of sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benefits of having an early dinner<\/p>\n

Among individuals who have dinner before 7 pm, research has shown the following benefits, even as calorie intake remains the same as those having a late dinner:<\/p>\n

15% lower nighttime glucoseBetter insulin sensitivityImproved sleep quality<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr Sethi explained the phenomenon, stating, \u201cAfter sunset, melatonin rises naturally, and insulin release weakens. This can lead to poorer sleep and greater fat storage overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is the best time to have dinner?<\/p>\n

To maximise health benefits, we should have the final meal of the day by 7 pm. According to Dr Sethi, even a delay of two and a half hours can negatively affect the body.<\/p>\n

7 pm dinner leads to stable sugar, better sleep9:30 pm dinner leads to higher sugar, slower repair<\/p>\n

\u201cFor those with diabetes, prediabetes, or fatty liver, post-dinner sugar spikes are often nearly 30-50% higher, sometimes more, depending on insulin resistance,\u201d observed the gastroenterologist.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why early dinner can help hormones and sugar control, which is crucial for prediabetes, diabetes and fatty liver,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

It is not an extreme lifestyle that keeps us healthy, but rather eating \u201cin tune\u201d with how our body is built.<\/p>\n

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.<\/p>\n

This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Staying healthy is a comprehensive endeavour that goes beyond following the right diet and exercising. Smaller things, such…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":437958,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,1835,64739,133341,137,49846,4386],"class_list":["post-437957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-diabetes","tag-early-dinner","tag-gastroenterologist","tag-health","tag-health-benefits","tag-insulin-resistance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}