Can I eat watermelons at night?

Watermelons are some of the healthiest fruits out there. They are chock full of nutrition, and contain ample amounts of water. This makes them ideal fruits for the weight watchers’ club, and to add to their goodness, they are also incredibly tasty and quite versatile. Needless to say, you might well be tempted to fill up your diet chart with generous helpings of watermelons in every meal. However, like everything else, watermelons are also not going to be quite as beneficial if you do not maintain a proper balance in their intake, and eat them according to your nutritional needs and the time of the day. This is especially true for the night, when our body acts quite differently than the rest of the day. This is what we will focus on in this article.

can i eat watermelon at night

Yes, but very little

It has recently come to light that it is not a very good idea to consume watermelons at night. That is not to say, of course, that you need to omit them from your dinner altogether, but that it is best to eat very limited quantities of this fruit with or after your dinner. Eat less than the amount you will be eating for, say, your breakfast or your lunch, at any rate. Let us see why.

Digestive disruptions

The first issue is with your digestion. The human body pretty much starts to slow down as night approaches, preparing for a long night of sleep and subsequent starvation. Naturally, the process of digestion slows down as well, attempting to store the energy instead. Sugars and acids are the most difficult to digest, and watermelon contains both in pretty high quantities. Naturally, this lack of digestion will lead to an upset stomach the next day.

Frequent urination

Watermelons have a very high water content, so, while you will certainly not have to wake up parched in the middle of the night, you will certainly need more than usual urgent bathroom breaks. While this is not exactly a medical situation, one need not be told that waking up frequently with an urge to urinate is not one of the pleasanter sensations one might experience.

Weight gain

As mentioned before, the digestive system of humans pretty much shuts down at night, which slows down the metabolism significantly. As has also been mentioned before, acidic and sugary foods are more difficult to digest. Food that goes undigested is stored as fat in the body. Watermelons contain a pretty high amount of sugar, which would be easily digested and used up during the daytime, but be significantly more difficult for the body to process at night.

Also read: Best time to eat for weight loss

Of course, you need to keep in mind that whatever you eat, at any time of the day, will depend on your health situation and nutritional requirement. What is good for one is not necessarily good for the other. The above information is general, and although it cannot be denied that watermelons are certainly extremely nutritious and useful fruits, it is best to consult a nutritionist to determine how much and when you should consume them.