A recent study found that eating late at night can increase the risk of liver disease by up to 30%. Here’s what that means for you, according to experts.
Whether you’ve had an early dinner or just want a little something sweet before bed, we’re all known for grabbing a bite to eat after dinner. But the results of a new study conducted Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology suggest that evening snacking could harm your liver health.
Meet the experts: Melissa Mroz-Planells, DCN, RDN, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; Andrew McHill, Ph.D.co-author of the study and expert in circadian rhythms.
The research involved nearly 200,000 participants who self-reported their eating habits. Over the 16-year follow-up period, researchers found that those who reported late evening eating, defined as eating after dinner, were 20 to 30 percent more likely to develop all forms of liver disease, including cirrhosis and fatty liver disease associated with metabolic dysfunction (MASLD, more commonly known as fatty liver).
Does this mean you’ll never be able to have a late-night snack again? Ahead, the experts break it down.
Why are the results significant?
When we think about how our diet affects our health, we usually think about What we eat. But the results highlight that When How we eat may be just as important, according to Melissa Mroz-Planells, DCN, RDN, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Our metabolism follows a circadian rhythm and eating late at night can interfere with normal metabolic processes,” she explains. “Understanding how meal timing influences liver health could help identify another practical way to reduce long-term disease risk.”
This is worth noting, according to Andrew McHill, Ph.D.co-author of the study and expert in circadian rhythms. “Although we cannot make clinical recommendations based on this analysis, the results suggest that it is reasonable to refrain from eating before one’s usual bedtime or late in the evening when possible,” he says. “A small change in meal timing to reduce the risk of liver disease may be particularly beneficial given that up to 30% of the U.S. population is estimated to be affected by liver disease.”
And while we often think of the circadian rhythm, or our body’s “natural clock,” in the context of sleep, McHill says this study adds to a growing body of evidence showing that it’s also worth considering in relation to other aspects of our health, from diet to exercise. “People should pay attention to the day-night cycle of the body’s circadian rhythms, in addition to what or how much they eat,” he says.
Does eating late at night affect your health in any other way?
With this in mind, you may be wondering if eating late at night could affect anything other than your liver. Mroz-Planells says there are a few other reasons you might consider closing the kitchen early.
“Eating late at night, especially large meals close to bedtime, can make acid reflux worse and make it easier to eat excess calories,” she says. “Eating during the body’s biological night can also affect blood sugar regulation,” meaning you might be more likely to experience spikes or fluctuations in blood sugar.
But that doesn’t mean that just one late-night snack will harm your health. Mroz-Planells points out that the effects of eating late at night can vary greatly depending on the person, the size of the meal, what you eat, and your sleep schedule. “An occasional evening snack is not inherently unhealthy,” she says.
What does this mean to you?
To be clear, if you occasionally eat a late dinner or midnight snack, it doesn’t automatically mean your liver health is in trouble. “There is no need to panic,” says Mroz-Planells. “Many people eat late because of work or family schedules, and eating late at night does not automatically lead to liver disease. »
But when you are able to control your schedule, the timing of your meals may be worth considering in addition to their nutritional content. “Our analysis suggests refraining from eating two to four hours before normal bedtime if possible. However, we need to know more before we can make definitive clinical recommendations,” says McHill. He hopes this study will be a starting point for future research to determine whether small changes in the timing of food intake can help maintain liver health.
And if you want to protect your liver health, remember that meal timing is only one piece of the puzzle. Mroz-Planells says regular physical activity, getting enough sleep, limiting sugary drinks and excess alcohol, and the overall quality of your diet can also play an important role. In fact, one can help the other. “Eating balanced meals throughout the day, including high-fiber foods and lean or plant-based proteins, can also help prevent excessive hunger in the evening,” she points out.
So if your schedule doesn’t allow you to eat dinner earlier, don’t feel like you have to force it. Instead, “focus on what you can control,” suggests Mroz-Planells. “The goal is a sustainable routine, not rigid rules about when you can eat.”
The essentials
These findings suggest that meal timing may affect our liver health – and our overall health – more than we previously thought, but there are many other things to consider. McHill points out that meal times were self-reported and the study was observational, meaning it may show an association between late-night eating and liver disease, but not a true cause-and-effect relationship.
Mroz-Planells also adds that it’s possible that other factors, like sleep habits and overall diet quality, affect this relationship. “Liver health doesn’t just depend on what we eat,” she explains. “Meal timing can also play a role, but the goal isn’t to fear the occasional late-night snack. It’s about developing consistent, sustainable habits that support overall metabolic health.”
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