Fruit bowls are one of my go-to dinners during the week. I top them with yogurt, granola, peanut butter, and nuts. They’re delicious and fairly light, perfect for a late-day meal. Or so I thought until I saw a video on social media by cardiologist Aurelio Rojas. He warned against certain fruits at night, saying they can trigger insulin spikes in our bodies and, as a result, make it harder to rest.
As the expert explained: “fruits like bananas, grapes, mangoes, or pineapple raise the insulin response,” and while they might help you drift off, they can fragment your sleep. So when you wake up in the morning, even if you slept well, you may feel drained. In the long run, your heart can suffer from this pattern. You reach for these foods thinking your dinner is ultra-healthy, but it could be counterproductive at bedtime.
That said, ladies, this doesn’t mean you have to give up your favorite yogurt bowls. The key is to choose the fruits consciously if you intend them to be your dinner. To that end, the cardiologist shares some of his favorite options, starting with the kiwi. It packs very high levels of vitamin C, provides meaningful amounts of the nutrient, and is rich in precursors to serotonin. It also has a very low glycemic index, and studies have linked that to easier sleep onset and better sleep quality, as well as improvements to the immune system and the gut microbiota.
He also highlighted the benefits of other fruits, such as blueberries. They’re rich in polyphenols and have anti-inflammatory effects that protect the heart. They don’t cause glucose spikes, nor do they wake the nervous system during the night. To this juicy red fruit, he adds another timeless choice: the apple. Apples supply pectin, a soluble fiber that aids digestion and improves satiety without interfering with sleep. You’re likely to rest more soundly and wake up with far less hunger in the morning. We’ve taken note of all this to maximize the benefits of our nighttime fruit-and-yogurt bowls.
Photos | @doctorrojas, Marcus Aurelius on Pexels
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