Heart disease risk ups due to midnight snacking

A study from Mexico says that eating during the night may increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes by disrupting the body’s biological clock.

Researchers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico looked at levels of fat, called triglycerides, in the blood of rats.

They found that after feeding the rats fat at the beginning of their rest period, their blood fat levels spiked more drastically than when fed during the beginning of their active phase.

When they removed the part of the rat’s brain that controls the 24-hour cycle, there was no longer a change in fat levels.

‘The fact that we can ignore our biological clock is important for survival; we can decide to sleep during the day when we are extremely tired or we run away from danger at night,’ said Ruud Buijs, author of the study .

‘However, doing this frequently will harm our health in the long-term especially when we eat at times when we should sleep,’ said Buijs.

High blood fat levels are linked to heart disease and diabetes, experts said.