The Food Medic - Ask Dr Hazel E3: WHAT TO EAT ON A NIGHT SHIFT

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Starting point is 00:00:51 Plus, enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart. Groceries that over-deliver. Hey, everyone, and welcome back to another mini- of Ask Dr Hazel. In these short five minute episodes I answer questions submitted by you. Thank you to everyone who is sending questions already and if you would like to submit a question of your own to the podcast on any topic related to health, fitness, nutrition or mindset, basically anything we talk about on the Food Medic podcast, please send your voice recorder questions to ellie at thefoodmedic.co.uk. Okay, so let's hear

Starting point is 00:01:33 from this week's listener. Hi Hazel, just a question about night shifts. I wondered if you had any advice on the best foods to eat or what to eat generally when you're working a night shift. Thanks so much. This is such a good question and something that I'm asked all the time. Okay, so when to eat and what to eat on a night shift. So during the biological night, our body digests and metabolizes food much less efficiently than during the day, pushing up glucose, insulin and cholesterol levels. And so this can lead to poor health down the line if it's something that we're doing a lot of the time. So that's why it's important that we do think about what we're eating on night shifts.

Starting point is 00:02:19 Now, practically speaking, we also need the right fuel to keep us alert and also perform at our best so there's a couple of things that we need to consider but what I typically advise is have your main meals before and after your shifts for example your first meal before your shift or early in the night and then when you get home the following morning have another main meal. Ideally you want these meals to be as nutrient dense as possible with lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, slow releasing complex carbohydrates, lean protein and healthy fats and also making sure you're getting enough calories in in those meals if you're not eating throughout the night. Either avoid eating between midnight and 6am as a rule, but if you feel hungry please don't, you know, starve yourself and instead opt for low-fat high-protein snacks. So something

Starting point is 00:03:15 like Greek yogurt and berries is a good idea. A protein shake or smoothie is also a good idea because you can pop it in a shaker and sip it on the go especially if you're running around different wards hummus and peanut butter hummus or peanut butter I should say on whole grain toast is another option or maybe a slice of frittata or egg muffins or something like that make sure to keep hydrated with water throughout the night as well or decaf hot drinks if you're going to have caffeine use it wisely because having it before work or at the start of your shift can help keep you feel alert but if you're having caffeine later into the night so say the second half of your shift that might have an impact on your sleep the next day so something to bear in mind. The other thing I'd say is plan ahead and pack your

Starting point is 00:04:01 own snacks and drinks so in my own experience the best treats can be found at the nurse's station on a night shift and the nurses are always super generous with them but try not to depend on jelly babies and cake and stuff like that to keep you throughout the night because that energy is unlikely to sustain you again I made this mistake so learn from my mistakes hopefully that's enough tips to get you started best of luck and let me know how you get on

The Food Medic - Ask Dr Hazel E3: WHAT TO EAT ON A NIGHT SHIFT

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