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I've always been told that eating oranges at night is bad for you.
In fact there is a saying that suggests that you might die if you eat them at night:
"Oranges in the morning are gold, afternoon silver and at night they kill!" (Translated from Portuguese where it rhymes so it sounds good)

Is there any truth to this saying and if not where could this myth come from?

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The worst I've had happen to me is a case of 2AM diarrhea. Diarrhea kills thousands of people every day. – It Grunt Mar 22 '11 at 23:14
What I've eared that It can cause damage, over a long term period, if you eat orange systematically with an "empty stomach". This is caused by the fact that this is quite acid. This advice will certainly be valid for lemon too, etc. – Rabskatran Mar 23 '11 at 9:52
Do you have any idea whether acid should harm the stomach, sugar should kept you from sleeping (this would fit to bananas, apples and such as well) or maybe the acid harm your teeth? – user unknown Mar 23 '11 at 10:57
I had 1/2 sour ornages an hour before going to bed, two times in this week. Both times, i did not have full sleep. It seemed that i had less urine both times. I am wondering, what could be the reason. – user1704 Apr 8 '11 at 5:38
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This question has been attracting more than its fair share of unreferenced answers. Please remember that our community standards require your claims to be cited. – Oddthinking Mar 3 at 5:47
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up vote 2 down vote

No, they won't kill you. Also, I have to disagree with the other answer regarding them being not a great idea before bed. Oranges do have carbs, but there's not much evidence that they have enough carbs to harm your sleeping patterns. Also, carbs, themselves, don't do much to your sleeping patterns, much like sugar doesn't actually make kids "wired" or "hyper."

If oranges did anything to you by eating them near bedtime, that may depend on your general health. If you're prone to acid reflux, for example, oranges might cause an increased supply of acid, causing your reflux to worsen, especially when you're laying down. For people who have sensitivity to acidic foods, naturally, an orange might be a problem to eat at anytime. Outside of that, though, it is unlikely that an orange before bed is going to harm you.

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would depend on the number of oranges of course. 1 orange won't do anything, a dozen might. – jwenting Mar 24 '11 at 10:19
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This answer is not properly referenced. Please add citations to support your claims! :-) – Sklivvz♦ Apr 8 '11 at 5:43
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up vote -2 down vote

Sounds like superstition.

Nevertheless eating them before bed can be bad if you have acid reflux. Eating them without brushing your teeth may be bad due to citric acid.

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Adding some reference to the claims you make would increase the quality of this answer. – rjstelling May 20 '11 at 13:20
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