If your family group chat is currently a war zone over Thanksgiving schedule planning… good news: nutrition experts have thoughts. And they say the timing of your turkey feast actually matters more than you think.
Here’s the breakdown:
🍽️ Experts say earlier is better.
According to a nutritional medicine professor at Columbia University, eating Thanksgiving dinner earlier in the day has major benefits:
✔️ You have more time to digest
✔️ You avoid going to bed feeling stuffed
✔️ It reduces the risk of nighttime indigestion or reflux
In general, you should give yourself at least three hours between finishing dinner and going to sleep. (So yes, a 7pm feast might equal a rough night.)
🥧 But timing isn’t everything… moderation matters.
A huge 2pm meal with three servings of everything will still wreck you.
A reasonable 6pm plate? You’ll feel way better.
Basically: if your strategy is “eat everything in sight, then nap on the couch,” you’re gonna pay for it — no matter the time.
🥞 Don’t skip breakfast. No, seriously.
People think skipping breakfast “saves room.”
Experts say it backfires big time.
Skipping meals can:
⚠️ Mess up your blood sugar
⚠️ Cause indigestion from building stomach acid
⚠️ Make you way more likely to overeat later
So eat breakfast, eat lunch, then enjoy the main event like a normal human being.
🦃 Bottom line:
Early-ish is best… but what and how much you eat matters just as much as when you eat it.
If you need a sign to push your family toward a 2:00pm turkey time — THIS IS IT.
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