Posted: Jun 26, 2017 8:08 AM PDT
Updated: Jun 26, 2017 8:08 AM PDT
By Health Matters

We all know that what we eat can affect our weight, but did you know it can also impact how you sleep? Dr. Jose Colon, a sleep medicine physician with Lee Health, says if you want to have a healthy sleep routine, you first need to have a healthy diet. “I’ve been finding that patients with insomnia can have deficiencies in B vitamins and deficiencies in oleic acid.”

Doctors say processed foods can disrupt sleep even cause chronic disease. “Processed foods are higher in the glycemic index. They can lead to cancer, heart disease, gestational diabetes, beyond just obesity itself; there are a lot of things that it leads to,” said Dr. Colon.

Doctors say a lot of chronic diseases and sleep disorders could be prevented if patients altered their diet and lifestyle. Instead of eating processed foods and sugary snacks, go for more nutritious meals with fruits and vegetables and lean protein. “If you’re eating 90 calories from a bowl of strawberries, you at least have phytonutrients, antioxidants, to buffer some of the high sugar stress. But if you’re getting 90 calories from a pack of gushers there are no antioxidants in that and that just causes a burden of stress there,” said Dr. Colon.

Throughout the day, he recommends patients eat more good fats like nuts, seeds, avocado, and avoid the bad fats like oil and anything fried. “Life has a rhythm and we have these biological rhythms in sleep and in digestion as well. Some of the burden that chronic disease has, we end with medications that end up interfering with our sleep, and then we end up gaining weight, and then we have sleep apnea,” said Dr. Colon.

Maintaining a healthy and nutritious diet can keep your weight and sleep normal.