Insomnia Foods #2

Do you know which foods and beverages to avoid in order to promote better sleep? Avoid chocolate just before bedtime, for one thing. It contains caffeine and theobromine (stimulants that can increase heart rate and sleeplessness. And you may want to ditch Red Bull. According to Keri Gans, a registered dietician in New York City and author of The Small Change Diet, an eight-ounce Red Bull energy drink contains about 80 milligrams of caffeine, while a Five-Hour Energy drink packs 200 milligrams of caffeine into just two ounces (the equivalent of drinking 16 ounces of regular coffee). In fact, you may want to avoid sodas altogether. Mountain Dew MDX along with jolt Cola and Vault contain 71 milligrams of caffeine per 12-ounce serving (the upper limit of what the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows). In addition, typical soda drinks often contain citrus as well as sodium benzoate and other chemicals that can promote acid reflux, often a recipe for interfering with sleep.