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 Ares, 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 Argentinians 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 US, 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 the late 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, and therefore your portions, is. As we describe in The Serotonin Power Diet, the only effective natural way to control appetite is to turn off the brain’s natural appetite-suppressing switch. 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. The later afternoon snack makes sense, because that seems to be a practically worldwide time for serotonin depletion. But what you choose can keep you from overeating at dinner. Here’s something to try. The next time you’re at Starbucks in the late afternoon and hungry for a snack, instead of a giant chocolate cookie and mocha frappuccino, try a biscotti and a decaf coffee with flavored syrup and a splash of fat-free milk. It’s all the carbs (and calories) you need to take the edge off your appetite and give you a mental energy boost.

There is no pill that can increase serotonin in the brain. However, eating the right meals and snacks will keep the system working just as nature intended it to and prevent overeating by cutting out your cravings. With the brain’s serotonin-powered appetite switch operating properly, you will feel full and satisfied no matter what time supper is served.
 

Copyright © 2007 Judith J. Wurtman, PhD, and Nina Frusztajer Marquis, MD

Authors
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. She splits her time between Boston and Miami.

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 Boston, Miami and San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives.

They are the authors of The Serotonin Power Diet: Use Your Brain’s Natural Chemistry to Cut Cravings, Curb Emotional Overeating, and Lose Weight. Published by Rodale. January 2007; $24.95US/$31.00CAN; 1-59486-346-6.

For more information, please visit www.serotoninpowerdiet.com