Late dinner and no breakfast is a killer 

People who skip breakfast and eat dinner near bedtime have worse outcomes after a heart attack. That’s the finding of research published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1

The study found that people with the two eating habits had a four to five times higher likelihood of death, another heart attack, or angina (chest pain) within 30 days after hospital discharge for heart attack.

This was the first study to evaluate these unhealthy behaviours in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Skipping breakfast was observed in 58%, late-night dinner eating in 51%, and both behaviours in 41%.

The study enrolled patients with a particularly serious form of heart attack called ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). “One in ten patients with STEMI dies within a year, and nutrition is a relatively inexpensive and easy way to improve prognosis,” said study author Dr Marcos Minicucci, of São Paolo State University, Brazil.

He recommended a minimum two hour interval between dinner and bedtime. “It is said that the best way to live is to breakfast like a king,” he added. “A good breakfast is usually composed of dairy products (fat-free or low fat milk, yogurt and cheese), a carbohydrate (whole wheat bread, bagels, cereals), and whole fruits. It should have 15 to 35% of our total daily calorie intake.”

Source: Late dinner and no breakfast is a killer combination