Snacking on fruit after breakfast, fruit during lunch, vegetables during dinner and dairy after dinner was associated with lower risks for CVD and all-cause mortality, according to new dietary data reported by the American Heart Association.
The study investigated the association of meal and snack patterns across a day with cancer, cardiovascular disease, and all‐cause mortality. Meal patterns of fruit‐lunch and vegetable‐dinner, and snack patterns of fruit after breakfast and dairy products after dinner were associated with decreased risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and all‐cause mortality. Western lunch and starchy snack pattern after main meals were associated with elevated cardiovascular disease and all‐cause mortality risk.
The right time of food intake is essential for regulating the body’s metabolism and preventing the process of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, timing of meals needs to be taken into consideration for dietary recommendations to improve health. A high energy intake at breakfast or prolonged time‐restricted energy intake throughout the night have beneficial effects on body weight, glucose, lipid control, and long‐term survival
Although many studies reported the association of increased vegetable intake or vegetable dietary pattern with decreased cancer, CVD, and all‐cause mortality, it is still largely unknown whether vegetable intake at various times would impact health. Therefore, the most important finding of this study was that higher intake of vegetables at dinner was significantly associated with lower risks of cancer, CVD, and all‐cause mortalities, whereas vegetables consumed at lunch did not have these beneficial effects.
Another key finding of this study is that Western lunch, characterized as high intakes of refined grain, cheese, cured meat, and red meat at lunch, was associated with elevated CVD and all‐cause mortalities. The Western lunch typically contains high energy, total fat, and low‐quality carbohydrate. Participants who consumed a high fat or carbohydrate meal at lunch were drowsier and sleepy, which might increase duration of daytime napping through stimulating secretion of cholecystokinin and various gut health issues and disruption of the circadian pattern of serotonin. Further, Western dietary pattern is associated with chronic, low‐grade inflammation that has been reported to impact an internal circadian pattern.
Moreover, this study also found that higher intake of dairy products after dinner was associated with lower mortality risks of CVD and all‐cause, whereas dairy products consumed after lunch was not. Currently, the association of dairy products consumption with CVD and all‐cause mortalities was inconsistent and no study has examined the consumption time of dairy products. The beneficial effect of dairy products after dinner reported in this study could be explained by improved sleep quality. There is growing evidence that sleep quality is associated with all‐cause and CVD mortalities.
In conclusion, higher intake of fruit at lunch, and higher intake of vegetables and dairy products in the evening were associated with lower mortality risks of CVD, cancer, and all‐cause; whereas higher intake of refined grain, cheese, added sugars, and cured meat at lunch, and higher intake of potato and starchy foods after main meals were associated with greater CVD and all‐cause mortalities.
Source: American Heart Association.
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