But the best food is at dinner!…

I’m a fan of dinner. I eat a big breakfast because I know it’s healthy for me and I know the benefits of starting the day with your biggest meal - but I can’t say it’s fun.

But dinner? Now we’re talking. The other night for Father’s Day we went to this swanky brick oven pizza place and it was absolutely delicious. I ate a large pizza by myself. That used to be something I would brag about as a teenager. I don’t know if I’m bragging or confessing as I write this now.

But my HRV (Heart Rate Variability) and sleep scores that night were not as good as usual. I noticed this last year while on my anniversary where every night we would go find the best ice cream spot or key lime cheesecake and enjoy every bite. On vacation I eat sugar. At home I don’t.

And my numbers that entire trip were bad, like real bad. This is while everything else was consistent, good sleep quantity, working out, on the beach, in the ocean, relaxed - blah blah blah - none of it overrides this big idea of eating late. I won’t go into it but eating sugar late is extra bad - but eating anything late (within 3 hours of sleep) - even a giant bowl of fruit - will impact your health.

Why? My unscientific answer is that your body was designed to do one thing well at any given moment.

• Need to run from a bear? Adrenaline starts pumping and digestion stops

• Need to ruin a good lecture or brainstorming session? Eat a big meal before and the body - brain mostly- says give me a nap.

• Need to get a good night’s sleep and recharge the body? Don’t eat too late

Why is that? Because the body prioritizes what is most important in the moment - and for food to turn into our blood - it needs to digest. When we eat late, then sit or lay down the body struggles to digest before it can begin the work of restoration. So what does it do? It often will focus on digestion before it can focus on repair - and thus you can wake up groggy, still tired and your sleep numbers and HRV are not as good because the body had to do its best to multitask but had to focus on one thing first. This is why walking for a few minutes after you eat is so important - to help your digestion kick into high gear.

Science says?

Scientific studies consistently highlight the significant risks of consuming meals late in the day—an issue that may accumulate quietly but profoundly over time. For individuals committed to well-being, especially those balancing demanding careers and family life, adjusting meal timing can deliver powerful health benefits. Here’s the skinny…

Why earlier meals matter

• Greater heart and stroke risk

  Eating the final meal after 9 pm is linked to a 13% higher risk of cardiovascular disease, and each hour of delay raises cerebrovascular risk by another 8% compared to eating before 8 pm [1].

• Disrupted metabolic rhythm

  Consuming over 45% of daily calories after 5 pm elevates risks for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and inflammation—even when total calories remain constant [2].

• Misaligned circadian clocks

  Late eating disrupts natural biological rhythms, triggering insulin resistance, higher blood pressure, inflammation, and elevated mortality risk [3][4].

• Impaired glucose control and weight management

  Late-night meals reduce glucose tolerance and diminish weight-loss effectiveness, regardless of overall food intake [5][6].

• Improved outcomes with daytime-only eating

  Trials show that restricting eating to daytime hours alone lowers key cardiovascular stress markers—including blood pressure and clotting factors—by 6–8% even when sleep duration is the same [7].

Takeaways: Ideas to move dinner earlier

1. Define an eating window: Aim for a 10–12‑hour window, such as 8 am–6 pm. There is a lot of increasing evidence on this in the realm of ‘Intermittent Fasting’.

2. Set consistent dinner timing: Most dinners between 6–7 pm; keep exceptions minimal. I’ve learned that the body clock likes meals at the same times each day to help to begin producing the necessary chemicals/fluids necessary to digest your food properly.

3. Use reminders: Calendar alerts signal your cut-off time or even a time to get ready to eat, helping you avoid creeping later.

4. Include family participation: Plan weekly earlier family meals—like Sunday dinners or Friday light suppers.

5. Monitor results: Track markers like blood pressure, weight, or glucose; share improvements with your clinician or biohacking friends 🙂 

6. Reinforce wins: Better sleep, steadier energy, and lighter mornings become your daily rewards.

7. Biggest to Smallest: If you really want to see your health go up a notch, make breakfast your biggest meal, lunch your medium meal and dinner your smallest. My dad decided to eat two meals in his health and weight loss journey and lost 60lbs in about 9 months by doing just one thing - eat a bigger breakfast and lunch and cut out dinner altogether.

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I’d love to hear about your health journey. 👋

I write this newsletter each week because I feel my best when my body, mind and soul are all healthy. I want the same for you. If you feel like you’ve seen something valuable here, please do me a favor and forward this newsletter to a friend or let me know what you think by replying or texting me - (310) 879-8441

I think happy couples make the world go round. I also believe men can do more to lead and love in their lives. In light of that, I have found the following four books to be the 4 books every man should read and every woman should want their man to read.

• Good Energy - What makes for a Healthy Body and Mind?

• The Masculine in Relationship - How to Win the Trust, Lust and Devotion of a Strong Woman

• The Man’s Guide to Women - The Science of Happy Relationships

• The Desire of Ages - Leadership in a World of Cowards

Here are a few other links to things that have changed my life:

Whoop - Track your HRV and REM Sleep

Function Health - Optimize Your Health via 100+ BioMarkers

Here are a few topics I think you’ll love if you haven’t checked them out before:

How to Breathe for Better Health

How to Supercharge Your Sleep

The Power of the Sauna

-Jared

P.S. - This newsletter does not provide medical advice. The content, such as graphics, images, text, and all other materials, is provided for reference and educational purposes only. The content is not meant to be complete or exhaustive or to be applicable to any specific individual's medical condition.

References

[1] Nature Communications: Mealtime delays after 9 pm associated with 13% higher CVD risk and 8% increased stroke risk per hour [1].

[2] EMJ Reviews: >45% daily calories after 5 pm linked to diabetes, heart disease, inflammation [2].

[3] Nature Communications & Nature Nutrition: nighttime eating disrupts circadian rhythm, increasing mortality, diabetes, cancer risk [3].

[4] Wikipedia “Chrononutrition”: discordant eating times elevate adiposity and cardiometabolic factors [4].

[5] PMC Metabolic Effects: late dinner impairs glucose metabolism and promotes weight gain [5].

[6] Current Opinion in Biotechnology: consistent early meals improve efficacy of dietary interventions [6].

[7] Nature Communications & Mass General Brigham (2025): daytime-only eating group showed 6–8% reductions in blood pressure and clotting proteins [7].