Heart and Cardiovascular

Midnight munchies could threaten your ticker

When you're up past your bedtime... or you've woken up in the middle of the night... there's nothing more alluring than a trip to the fridge.

Sometimes it doesn't even matter what you find in there -- because once that door opens and that little light inside turns on, the grazing begins.

But according to a new study, you should really leave the midnight milk and cookies to Santa -- because eating during the night can up your chances of heart disease.

In the study out of Mexico, researchers fed a group of rats at the beginning of their rest period AND at the beginning of their active phase, and then they measured the levels of fats called triglycerides in their blood after each meal.

Now, the researchers were interested in triglycerides because we know that, in humans, having high levels of these fats in the blood is a risk factor for heart disease.

By the end of the study, it turned out that the rats' triglycerides spiked more drastically when they ate at the start of their REST period than when they ate at the start of their ACTIVE phase -- suggesting that eating when they should have been resting disturbed the rats' natural biological clock.

To test the theory, the researchers removed a part of the rats' brains that controls their 24-hour cycle and then repeated the experiment.

This time, there was NO difference in triglyceride levels, whether the rats were fed before rest or before activity -- proving that a disruption in the biological clock explained the earlier variation.

Now, I know you're not a lab animal, but humans and rats are actually similar in this way.

Previous studies have shown that when you ignore your biological clock and shovel in midnight snacks, you can add pounds to your waistline... elevate your blood pressure... and even make it harder for your brain to form new memories.

And it makes sense that eating too late could spike your triglycerides -- because your muscles and tissues don't soak up these fats for fuel when your internal clock signals that it's rest time.

Translation: WHEN you eat can be almost as important as WHAT you eat.

So, the next time you wake up and not a creature is stirring... not even a mouse... don't find comfort in the fridge.

If hunger is driving you, try eating a high-protein dinner with lots of fiber to keep you feeling full until morning.

But if your snacking sessions are fueled by anxiety, taking a warm bath or a hot shower can calm your nerves and help you sleep like a baby.

For fewer wake-ups in the first place, natural sleep supplements like melatonin, L-theanine, and 5-HTP can help you stay asleep throughout the night.

High blood pressure? Not so fast.

If you indulged in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner last week, I hope you and yours enjoyed the feast.

And, if you're like me, you may STILL be munching on the leftovers! (Let's face it -- turkey is the gift that just keeps on giving.)

But there's one "gift" you may have gotten that you most certainly will NOT be grateful for -- and that's high blood pressure (a.k.a. hypertension).

Now, you might blame salt... or holiday stress... or even a few extra pounds from stuffing yourself with stuffing.

None of those are the culprit of your overnight "diagnosis," though.

How do I know?

Because your numbers didn't change. The official BP targets, however, did.

As a result, the number of Americans with hypertension rose from 72 million to an eye-popping 103 million... overnight!

Since 2003, the "cutoff" for high BP has been anything above 140/90. And earlier this year, the national committee in charge of the guidelines loosened the reins a bit, announcing that a systolic (a.k.a. top) number of 150 would be the "high" threshold for healthy folks over 60.

But according to the new guidelines, a BP above 130/80 will now be considered high for those with at least a 10 percent chance of a heart attack or stroke in the next decade -- which means pretty much EVERYONE over 65 (plus a gaggle of younger people who have risk factors like diabetes).

If you ask me, the new recommendations will just make it easier for docs to diagnose you with high BP after taking just one reading... and then send you off with a stack of prescriptions for dangerous drugs you're supposed to be on for LIFE.

You see, the new guidelines are based on a study that found that a group of folks over 50 who got their systolic BP under 120 reduced their risk of heart attack and stroke by a third and their risk of death by 25 percent.

Sounds impressive... until you find out that the participants needed on average THREE drugs to meet the 120 target -- and they DOUBLED their risk of acute kidney injury.

And, over the long haul, we know that these pills can cause irregular heartbeat... cancer... and even problems in the bedroom.

What's more, the new guidelines could actually make your BP too low -- setting you up for dizziness and falls.

So, I'm not paying much attention to these new goal posts, and you shouldn't either.

If your BP is truly, dangerously high by all accounts, start by making some simple lifestyle changes that can reduce it naturally.

Studies have shown that maintaining a healthy weight is the best thing you can do for your BP.

Switching to the Paleo diet will help you shed pounds AND cut out the sugars, processed fats, and sodium that can jack up your BP.

Exercising regularly, sitting in a sauna, and supplementing your diet with natural BP regulators like magnesium, tart cherry juice, and cinnamon can also keep your BP in a healthy range -- without side effects.