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We all want to eat right, but damn it if our cravings for certain junk don’t make that journey to a healthy diet all the more difficult.
But, if you do decide to indulge and want to feel less guilty about it (and crappy), a recent study by researchers at Texas A&M University found that the optimal time of day to do so is in the morning. And it makes sense, right? Eat something high in fat early in the day and your body has more time to digest it. Not to mention that you can tailor your diet for the rest of the day (i.e., the number of calories you consume) based on how big that morning meal was. But trying to flip things around, as in, eating a certain amount during the early part of the day and then going HAM on a double Whopper at the end of the night, probably won’t end well for you.
But more than anything, going for heavy junk food before lunchtime can reportedly help reduce your body’s response to it. Foods high in saturated fats can cause chronic inflammation in your cells, which can make you susceptible to a variance of health issues. Like diabetes, which the World Health Organization just said last week more than 400 million people worldwide have. But the earlier you consume these foods, the less inflamed your cells may become.
And according to Women’s Health, via the study, the later in the day you decide to consume dense foods high in saturated fat, the worse your body will feel and the more likely your internal clock and circadian rhythm will be thrown off. Which could explain why you have such intense “itis” after certain meals.
So if you’re going to give into your cravings sometimes, there’s always the option to let loose at brunch. Or, if you must eat that burger and fries in the early evening, go bananas at the gym afterward. But then again, trust me when I say that’s not a cycle you want to start…
