What is a good food to eat before bed?

If you get hungry before going to bed, you should eat something because your next meal won't come for six or seven hours. Ideally, a midnight snack should be small, low in calories and digested slowly. During sleep, your body doesn't use a huge amount of energy. If you eat a large meal that is high in calories right before bed, your body will store a big chunk of that food as fat. If you eat a meal that is digested slowly, your body will get a small but steady stream of energy throughout the night and will be more likely to burn that energy off rather than storing it as fat. Your midnight snack should be as low in sugar as possible. Sugar is digested very quickly and might even keep you from sleeping. Eat foods that are high in fiber such as vegetables or whole wheat. Fiber slows down digestion. You should also have some protein before bed. If you exercise, you cause damage to your muscles. During sleep, your body repairs and rebuilds damaged tissue, so having an ample amount of protein will help your body fix what is broken. Tuna is a great midnight snack because it is high in protein and low in calories and sugar. You can also eat dairy products such as milk, cheese or cottage cheese. Dairy products are high in casein protein which is digested slowly. Want to know more about what foods you should eat during certain times of the day? Visit the Nutrition Guide. You can also check out what foods others are eating for breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight snacks or share your own ideas at the nutrition forums.

Health Poll of the Week: Sometimes, those who are looking to lose weight skip breakfast in hopes of cutting calories. Do you eat or skip breakfast? Vote now. Remember, there's no need to register to vote and if you share your opinion, you could win an Amazon gift card.