Eating Late at Night Is Dangerous for the Liver

A new study suggests that people who habitually eat snacks late at night may be putting their liver health at risk.

According to Ambassador Arjan, quoted by Independent, the analysis of data on nearly 200,000 American adults showed that those who eat food after dinner face a 20-30% increase in the risk of developing two types of fatal liver diseases.

These diseases include liver cirrhosis and fatty liver disease, which are among the most common types of liver diseases. These complications can also lead to cancer.

More research is needed to fully understand this connection, but researchers believe it is related to the body's internal clock, or circadian rhythm.

Andrew McHale, the author of the study and an associate professor and specialist in sleep physiology and circadian rhythms at the Oregon Health and Science University, said in a statement: "We see time and time again that the timing of behaviors - whether it's sleeping, whether it's eating or exercising - is really important."

The internal body clock of people who work at night is often disrupted; Separate research shows that this condition can even lead to changes in genes. These workers also experience higher rates of obesity and heart disease, which Harvard researchers attribute to a misalignment between the body's internal clock and regular cycles of eating and sleeping.

"Eating late at night reduces the body's ability to metabolize food efficiently," McHale noted.

Dr. Robert Wilchansek, a liver specialist at the Oregon Health Center and lead author of this study, added: "The liver is very much in sync with the circadian rhythms of the body. Therefore, we seek to change the timing of eating in a way that can have a positive effect on people's health without changing the type and composition of food they consume."

Previous studies have also linked the consumption of carbonated soft drinks and highly processed snacks such as sweet cookies and chips with liver diseases. Fortunately, only a small part of people suffering from this type of liver diseases, suffer from severe and serious forms of this condition.

The researchers will continue to investigate eating habits to see if meal timing can affect the risk of developing the disease.

There are various types of liver diseases, some of which have no symptoms; However, symptoms of liver cirrhosis include fatigue, loss of appetite, loss of libido, yellowing of the skin, itchy skin, and nausea or vomiting.