Long-term late dinners can have a similar effect to shift work by disrupting the biorhythm that is important for regulating the biological clock.
Snacking during the night or eating dinner too late can increase the risk of cancer, according to a study that showed that late meals interfere with our internal clock, writes the Daily Mail.
Spanish scientists found that people who regularly eat their evening meals after 21 p.m. or two hours before going to sleep have a 25 percent increased risk of breast and prostate cancer.
The team from the Institute of Global Health at the University of Barcelona say that this may be the result of late dinners that force the body's metabolism to accelerate, at a time when it should be preparing for sleep.
This research follows several major studies that have looked at the adverse health effects of shift work, the work routines of nurses and manual workers, who are considered to be at high risk for the development of malignant tumors - both of the breast and prostate.
These types of cancer are closely related to hormones, which can give signs of the disease, and are often treated with testosterone or estrogen-based therapies. Hormones are chemical messages that can make us sleepy, hungry and stressed, and are closely related to the body's circadian rhythm - the internal clock that is set according to our body's day-night rhythm.
1.800 patients with breast or prostate cancer participated in the research, as well as more than 2.000 healthy people who had the task of discovering their sleeping and eating habits, as well as what steps they take to stay healthy.
It turned out that cancer patients had developed a habit of eating late in the evening, even though they ate healthy and slept enough hours.
The current international guide to cancer prevention does not mention that the time we consume food can potentially affect the occurrence of cancer, while the World Health Organization stated that work shifts can be a potential cause of cancer, reports B92.
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