2023-06-12 18:20:19
Better if vegetable, from legumes (such as peas, chickpeas, beans, soybeans, broad beans) to cereals (wheat, rice, oats, quinoa) as well as eggs. For meat, opt for poultry or turkey
It is an established rule that one should have a ‘breakfast like a king, a lunch like a prince and a dinner like a poor man’, eating little and lightly, avoiding sweets and fats in the evening. But on which foods to prefer before going to sleep to promote rest and sleep, the ‘expert advice’ is different, starting with those suggesting carbohydrates, the classic pasta dish. But now American researchers, authors of a new study published in the journal ‘Cell’, have reversed course, arguing that a protein-based dinner, preferably vegetable, promotes deeper sleep. And what makes the difference – according to scientists at Harvard Medical School – would be a protein synthesized by the cells of the brain and intestine.
In particular, the researchers discovered that deep sleep is partly due to the protein called CCHa1, synthesized in the intestine and whose secretion depends on our diet, especially on protein intake. Scientists studied fruit flies and observed that the quality of sleep was affected by the presence of CCHa1 from the brain and gut. They blocked CCHa1 in the intestines of some flies while multiplying it in others, and analyzed the insects’ sleep quality by subjecting them to vibrations while they slept. It turned out that the flies without CCHa1 showed light sleep, waking up at the slightest vibration, in contrast to the other flies in which the CCHa1 protein had been multiplied, which were much deeper sleepers, so much so that strong vibrations were needed to wake them up.
The good news – the authors argue – is therefore that the production of CCHa1 can be conditioned through diet, by increasing the protein intake. Therefore, consuming more protein at dinner would help to get a deeper sleep but – the researchers warn – this is not a reason to consume too much meat in the evening. Fat-rich foods tend to interfere with sleep because they will require excessive effort to digest. It would then be counterproductive. Better therefore to bet on vegetable proteins: legumes (such as peas, chickpeas, beans, soybeans, broad beans), oilseeds (such as walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds) and cereals (wheat, rice, oats, quinoa) in addition to eggs which are excellent in protein. And if you really want to eat meat, it’s better to opt for lean ones such as poultry or turkey.
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