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totalhealth’s Special Report
Obesity, Weight Loss and Glucose Control
Night-Eating Syndrome
by James B. LaValle, R.Ph., NMD, CCN
May Be Due to Stress, Not Hunger
 It's 11pm and you're hungry. The conversation
in your head begins: ”I'm trying to
lose weight; why not just go to bed
without eating?“ ”But I've followed my
diet all day; I deserve a treat.“ ”I can't
sleep if I'm hungry.“ ”A bedtime snack
tonight won't hurt, and besides, I choose
only fat-free, healthy foods.“ What can
you do?
If you've been spending more time at
night in the kitchen than in your bed, then
you may have developed a newly
identified condition termed night-eating
syndrome (NES). This condition is characterized
by a lack of appetite for breakfast
and lunch, the consumption of more than
50 percent of daily calories after the
evening meal, and, at times, waking up
during the night to consume highcarbohydrate
snacks. While NES was
thought to be uncommon in the general
population—estimated to affect between
one and two percent of adults—recent
studies report that it may occur in up to
approximately one-fourth of obese persons.
With almost 30 percent of the U.S.
population obese, NES is beginning to
garner significant attention.
Scientists have found that levels of
melatonin—the hormone that helps us
fall asleep and stay asleep at night—are
significantly reduced in NES sufferers.
Similarly, leptin—the hormone that suppresses
appetite—doesn't rise to normal
levels in night-eaters, suggesting that
their hunger pangs may be extreme
enough to disturb sleep. Finally, cortisol—often called the gstress hormoneh that
kicks in when we‘re feeling tense—is elevated
at night in people with NES, further
enticing them to wake up and head to the
kitchen. Cortisol levels can become elevated
during times of stress, and those of
us with constant stress have levels far
greater than those who keep stress under
control. Chronic stress contributes to a
host of health problems, including weight
gain, blood sugar regulation problems,
heart related problems, and a depressed
immune system that sets us up for more
colds and infections.
Perhaps the newest breakthrough for
those of us who like to eat late at night—is a dietary supplement ingredient called
Relora. (www.relora.com). Relora is a
patented formula extracted from two
plants that have been used in Traditional
Chinese Medicine for over 1500 years—Phellodendron amurense and Magnolia
officinalis. Relora may help to relieve
stress, anxiety and minimize stressinduced
eating by helping our body maintain
normal cortisol levels.
James LaValle R.Ph., NMD, CCN is cofounder
of the Living Longer Institute in
Cincinnati and author of Cracking the
Metabolic Code, Basic Book Publications,
North Bergen, NJ.
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