Irregular meal timings, late-night eating and unhealthy diets may affect metabolic and heart health. Experts recommend balanced diets, regular meal schedules, exercise and adequate sleep to reduce stroke risk.

Due to the hectic pace of life in the modern world, eating at odd times has become more and more frequent. People have begun to ignore the quality of food and timing due to their busy lifestyles, late working hours, prolonged periods of work in front of the computer screens and sleeping disorder. Although the quality of food we consume is vital to maintain our general wellbeing, meal timing can affect our metabolic health and well-being of our heart. This information needs to be considered when talking about stroke prevention.

Diet is an important factor that helps to reduce the risk of stroke by controlling blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and body weight. The healthy diet, which consists of plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds, helps to provide our body with all necessary nutrients and improves our cardiovascular health. There are many diets, and one of the most popular is the Mediterranean diet, which stresses the importance of natural and minimally processed food.

The other diets, like the Nordic diet and the DASH diet, also provide a lot to learn for the prevention of strokes. The Nordic diet consists of whole grains like oats, rye and barley, berries, vegetables, fish, and low-fat dairy products, with rapeseed or canola oil being used primarily for cooking. Likewise, the DASH diet involves the inclusion of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products in the diet, but at the same time keeping the amount of sodium low.

Nonetheless, the issue of healthy dieting goes beyond just our food intake; it is also about how we lead our lives on a day-to-day basis. Eating late at night, especially if that food contains too much salt, sugar and bad fats, may lead to an increased intake of calories, obesity and metabolic problems in case it becomes a daily practice. Moreover, having big dinners right before bedtime could potentially lead to digestion-related discomfort as well as interfere with sleeping in certain cases. Irregular eating times can also have an impact on our biological clocks.

It is necessary to highlight the fact that consuming food in the evening is not the reason behind developing a stroke by itself. The thing is that the problem is in the way of living in general, which includes irregular sleep patterns, sedentary lifestyle, excessive weight, and uncontrolled high blood pressure or blood glucose level.

In order to maintain the proper rhythm of life, it is possible to consider regular dinners, avoiding late heavy meals and making sure that food will have enough time to digest. For most of people, it is possible to eat their dinner in 8 pm or 9 pm and go to bed in 10 pm, depending on the working regime of individuals. However, there is no ideal pattern of eating in terms of hours for everyone.

In conclusion, stroke prevention depends on a holistic method that will involve making healthy food decisions coupled with exercising, getting enough rest, abstaining from smoking, and controlling blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol. Through focusing on not only what we eat but also when we do, it is possible to develop healthy routines for the benefit of our hearts and brains.

Dr. Santhosh N.S., Senior Consultant - Neurology, Manipal Hospital Whitefield