From: ygc0525@yahoo.com   
      
   Eat Late, Gain Weight: Time to Shatter the Myth   
   By Judith J. Wurtman, PhD, and Nina Frusztajer Marquis, MD   
   Authors of The Serotonin Power Diet   
      
      
      
   A few years ago I visited Argentina to attend a scientific meeting and to   
   see friends who had lived near me in the states many years earlier. I was   
   invited to their home for dinner and was told to arrive around 10:30 PM.   
   Dinner was served at 11 PM, and I did not get back to my hotel until a few   
   hours later. I soon learned that eating that late at night was the norm. No   
   one would think of starting dinner before 10 -- at the earliest.   
      
   Yet many North Americans believe that eating late at night will lead to   
   weight gain. People who try to watch their weight will often boast that they   
   never eat anything after supper, and the meal is often finished by 6:30   
   (lunchtime by an Argentinean clock). But as you might suspect, my friends,   
   along with most of the people I saw in Argentina, were very thin. I was told   
   that in Buenos Aires, the average woman wears a size 2 dress.   
      
   So why does eating late in the U.S. make us fat and in Argentina keep them   
   thin? The reason we put on the pounds if we eat late at night in contrast to   
   our friends in the Southern Hemisphere has nothing to do with the timing of   
   supper. It has everything to do with the food eaten before supper is served   
   or after it is eaten as well as the size of the meal in-between.   
      
   Like us, the Argentineans tend to snack a few hours before dinner; otherwise   
   the time between lunch and dinner would be impossibly long. But the   
   similarity ends there. In the U.S., many people, at snack time, visit coffee   
   cafés and munch on huge pastries. The fat-laden oversized coffees alone can   
   easily top 600 calories. In contrast, the Argentine snack, which is eaten   
   around 7 PM, may consist of a tiny cup of espresso and a miniature croissant   
   or a few small cookies.   
      
   In Argentina, despite the late dinner hour, most portions are tiny compared   
   to what we eat. The exceptions are steak and other meats that are served in   
   generous amounts. However, I noticed that thin diners rarely ate the whole   
   serving. For example in a restaurant I was served pasta as a main course   
   (and the portion was so small it would have been considered a side dish in   
   the United States). Dessert at this particular meal was a small pear. There   
   is another plus to dining so late: no after-dinner snacking.   
      
   Many in this country who eat an early dinner will then fill the time until   
   bedtime with frequent forays into the kitchen. But they are rarely checking   
   to see if the dishwasher has finished its cycle. Instead they are checking   
   to see if some of those leftovers are still in the refrigerator or trying to   
   remember where in the freezer the cookies were hidden. Often late-night   
   grazing consists of high-calorie foods or foods eaten mindlessly while   
   watching TV or a combination of both.   
      
   Then there are those who restrict their daytime eating for various reasons,   
   including being too busy, not planning for meals, or trying not to eat in an   
   effort to lose weight. The result is that by evening the person is famished   
   and eats everything in sight with little regard for making healthy options   
   or controlling portions. If you must eat dinner late because of work, school   
   or social engagements, you may typically munch away your hunger before ever   
   sitting down to the meal. Many of our clients who dine late say they also   
   eat an earlier supper in the form of snacks.   
      
   So what can you do about this? Moving to Argentina is not the solution. But   
   controlling your appetite is. There is a natural way to stop eating which   
   does not rely on going to bed right after supper. The brain contains a   
   natural appetite-suppressing switch. And the brain chemical, serotonin is   
   the key to this switch.   
      
   Serotonin is produced in the brain only after certain carbohydrates are   
   eaten in the right amounts and at the right times. Eating a carbohydrate   
   snack in the mid to late afternoon is a perfect remedy for turning off your   
   appetite. It seems that there is a world-wide craving for carbohydrates in   
   the afternoon, possibly because serotonin levels may be lower at that time.   
   In fact the lower serotonin levels is what makes many people experience a   
   grumpiness, impatience or lack of focus at that time. Having enough   
   carbohydrate to trigger serotonin production will subdue your appetite and   
   put you in a better mood. It is interesting to note that the English   
   tradition of late afternoon tea with a carbohydrate snack has satisfied   
   their afternoon carbohydrate cravings for centuries. In Switzerland, coffee   
   shops are filled with shoppers having coffee along with a tiny pastry or a   
   small piece of chocolate (this is the country of chocolate after all). And   
   the Swiss often have a very light dinner of soup, salad, yogurt or a fruit   
   and bread a few hours later. So instead of turning the late afternoon   
   carbohydrate craving into supper at 5 PM, try an international approach.   
   Have something to drink, decaffeinated coffee or tea for example if caffeine   
   that late will keep you up at night. And do have a low fat but tasty   
   carbohydrate snack along with it. There are now rice or soy crackers that   
   are low in fat, fat free tiny meringues, or if you really want a savory   
   treat, what about two or three vegetable sushi rolls? The latter are found   
   in supermarkets, convenience stores and food courts. We usually don't think   
   of eating rice as a snack but as a wrap around crunchy vegetables, it makes   
   a nice change from pretzels.   
      
   And don't overlook having a cup of fat free hot chocolate with lots of   
   marshmallows melted on top. Marshmallows are a very low fat carbohydrate   
   snack that we usually forget to eat. A couple of graham crackers with the   
   hot chocolate will keep your appetite under control and make dinner time a   
   pleasant wait.   
      
   Copyright © 2006 Judith J. Wurtman, PhD, and Nina Frusztajer Marquis, MD   
      
   Author   
   Judith J. Wurtman, PhD, has been recognized worldwide for decades of   
   pioneering research into the relationship of food, mood, brain, and   
   appetite. Dr. Wurtman received her PhD in cell biology from MIT and took   
   additional training as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow in nutrition/obesity. The   
   author of five books for the general public, she has written more than 40   
   peer-reviewed articles for professional publications.   
      
   Nina Frusztajer Marquis, MD, received her master's degree in nutrition from   
   Columbia University and her medical degree from George Washington   
   University. Her articles on weight, stress, and lifestyle have appeared in   
   numerous publications. With Judith Wurtman, she founded the Adara Weight   
   Loss Centers in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives, and in Boston,   
      
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