If you have had an extremely busy and long day, and are finally free to eat at about 11pm, it makes sense to would want to gulp down a heavy meal to assuage the persisting hunger no matter how late in the day it is. Eating late at night is not a complete no-no as it is important to eat when you are hungry. You just have to be smart about it.
Contrary to popular belief, eating late at night does not necessarily make you add weight nor does it have any negative health implications. Eating the wrong foods with the wrong number of calories is what brings on all the extra weight and most times disrupts your sleep.
Rather than just opting for the nearest, tastiest-looking Nigerian food, take a look at Jovago.com’s list of five Nigerian foods to avoid late at night.
- Amala and ewedu
A food famous in the western region of the country, amala and ewedu is a staple on the menu of many Nigerian restaurants. While the soup is made with vegetable and spices, amala is made with yam powder. They both form an appetising combo. However, they can be unfavourable to your stomach when consumed late in the night. Although amala digests very easily compared to other yam-based meals, it is urine inducing and can bring a lot of interruptions and discomfort to your sleep.
2. Pepper soup
A favourite Nigerian meal usually served with rice or yam as a side, pepper soup seems to be the perfect meal for times you are hungry at night as it is perceived as a light meal, but you may actually want to step away from it when you are craving something to eat late at night. The pepper soup contains certain spices and peppers that may upset your stomach, and chemicals that can also stimulate your senses, making it hard to fall asleep.
3. Agege bread
While Agege bread would be satisfying when eaten with tea, mayonnaise or butter late in the night, it contains a lot of carbohydrate that spike up your blood sugar levels, causing your energy levels to spike and plummet, disrupting your sleep in the process. There is also a chance that you will likely wake up starving a few hours later or in the morning due to the overproduction of insulin the sugar triggers.
4. Fries
If you have had dinner by 7pm and you are still awake by 12pm, you may want to indulge in light finger food like fried yam, plantain, potatoes or even akara. While these may seem like light meal, they actually are not. They are greasy heavy foods! They weigh on your stomach and take a while to digest, leaving you feeling tired and sluggish in the morning. Also, they do more harm to your sleep than good. You may have to deal with stomach pains, cramps, abdominal bloating, heartburn and acid reflux, resulting in poor sleep quality.
5. Ewa agoyin
A meal made of beans paired with a spicy sauce made with palm oil and dried crushed chillies, ewa agoyin is very tasty but a horrible option for late-night snacking or eating. Not only can it trigger heartburn as well as upset your stomach, it can totally sabotage a day of good eating and actually keep you from going to sleep.
Contributed by Nkem Ndem, Travel/Tech Writer, Jovago Nigeria
Skype: live:nkemndemv, Twitter: @ndemv, Instagram: @kem_dem
