What’s the worst time to eat Nutella hazelnut spread?

The worst time of the day to eat Nutella is before bed, between meals on an empty stomach, or right before exercise. Sugar and fat in Nutella can make you gain weight and even have detrimental effects on sleep quality!

Don’t eat Nutella as a snack between meals

Nutella is made of sugar, milk, palm oil, cocoa, hazelnuts, lecithin and vanillin.[1]

Actually, Nutella is packed with added sugar and saturated fat. Thus, we should eat Nutella and other common chocolate hazelnut spreads only occasionally as a sweet treat.

A typical 2-tablespoon serving of Nutella contains 200 calories, 21 grams of sugar, and 11 grams of fat, of which 4 grams are saturated fat!

It’s crucial to avoid eating Nutella as a snack between meals if you want to lose weight.

Nutella on white bread, in particular, is the one of the worst snacks you can have on an empty stomach. It can spike blood sugar levels.

White bread is the common food with the highest Glycemic Index. It can be more than 90! Foods with a high glycemic index have been associated with an increased risk of obesity.[2]

So, white bread with 21 grams of extra sugar from Nutella could cause weight gain. Firstly, Nutella on white bread has many calories. Just a medium slice can contain 300 calories!

In addition, Nutella on white bread is a bad snack for weight loss because it can’t regulate appetite. Sugar-rich snacks keep you hungry all the time. Sugar affects eating behavior and the reward system of the brain! It makes you constantly seek sugar-rich foods.

What's the worst time of the day to eat Nutella?Pin

If you insist on eating Nutella as a snack, at least, prepare a snack with whole grain bread. Brown bread has significantly more fiber than white bread. Fiber delays digestion of sugar and provides a feeling of fullness for hours! Fiber has been linked to a normal body weight as well as countless health benefits.

Great alternatives of Nutella are peanut better, almond butter, and above all, tahini. These spreads also have many calories. But, they’re packed with minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants that help burn belly fat, as they’re involved in energy metabolism.

For instance, peanut butter is one of the four foods containing resveratrol. This powerful polyphenol is beneficial for our health. Additionally, it supports a normal body weight.

However, the most nutritious spread is tahini!

Don’t eat Nutella at breakfast

For the same reasons, eating Nutella or any other sugar-rich chocolate hazelnut spread at breakfast is bad for you.

We shouldn’t consume high amounts of sugar on an empty stomach. Prefer consuming fiber, protein, or fat to break a fast.

A typical breakfast with Nutella on white bread and a glass of fruit juice is pretty bad for you. It’s particularly high in calories and sugar. Thus, it can’t promote satiety. We’ll have to eat another calorie-dense snack after a while. So, Nutella and other sugar-rich foods can cause overeating, and eventually lead to obesity.

Don’t eat Nutella before bed

Certainly, one of the worst moments of the day to eat Nutella is before bed.

Firstly, eating Nutella at dinner can make you gain weight because many calories of Nutella are stored as body fat. The body has decreased insulin sensitivity at night. It means that it can’t store sugar as muscle glycogen as effectively.

After all, Nutella is high in fat. A serving has 11 grams of fat. A high percentage of this amount of fat will be stored as body fat if consumed right before bedtime.

Furthermore, a dinner high in sugar can affect sleep onset, and duration. However, bad sleep quality may lead to obesity and many health issues, such as metabolic disorders.[3,4]

In fact, we should have dinner at least a couple of hours before bed. Otherwise, we have 5 times increased risk of gaining weight!

Avoid eating Nutella right before exercise

Another bad time to eat Nutella is right before a workout. It may cause stomach disturbances and affect athletic performance.

On the contrary, the best time to eat Nutella on white bread is right after exercise. Nutella and other favorite sugar-rich snacks help replenish muscle glycogen stores when consumed after strenuous workouts.

In fact, Nutella could be a decent post-workout snack for athletes with increased energy needs!

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