Researchers studying meal timing share strategies that can help you optimize your health
Most people know what and how much you eat plays a big role in your health. But scientists are discovering that eating can make a difference, too.
Studies show that for optimal health, it is better to consume the majority of calories at the beginning of the day rather than later, for example by eating a a large breakfast, a modest lunch and a restricted dinner.
this model of food it aligns with our rhythms circadianthe innate 24-hour clock that governs many aspects of our health, from our daily hormonal fluctuations and body temperatures to our cycles. sleep and watch.
Because of the way our internal clock works, our bodies are primed to digest and metabolize food at the start of the day. As the day progresses, our metabolism becomes less efficient. Studies show that a meal eaten at 9am can have very different metabolic effects than the same meal eaten at 9pm.
This emerging research field, known as chrononutrition, represents a paradigm shift in the way nutrition researchers think about food and health. Rather than focusing solely on nutrients and calories, scientists are increasingly watching meal timing and finding it can have marked effects on weight, appetite, risk of chronic disease, and the body’s ability to burn and store food fat.
“It’s something that nobody in nutrition has looked at until recently — it’s always been what you’re eating and what is the energy content of your food, the carbohydrates, proteins and fats,” said Marta Garaulet, professor of physiology and nutrition at the University of Murcia, Spain, studying meal timing and its effects on obesity and metabolism.
In today’s busy world, it is common for people to skip breakfast and overeat in the evening after a long day at work. Researchers say that, when possible, it would be best to do the opposite, or at least space out dinner a few hours before bedtime.
Marta Garaulet has found in her research that even in her native Spain, famous for its culture of late eating, people who typically eat a large lunch at noon and a light dinner develop fewer metabolic problems than people who consume too many calories during the night.
“In Spain, our main meal is in the middle of the day, 2-3pm,” he said. “We eat 35 to 40 percent of our calories in the middle of the day. And even if we have a late dinner, we don’t eat much.”
metabolic health
When you eat your meals is just one of many dietary factors that can affect your metabolic health. And for some people, like night workers, it’s impossible not to eat late at night.
But for those people whose schedules allow, research suggests it may be beneficial to eat the largest meal of the day in the morning or afternoon rather than in the evening.
In a new study published in Obesity reviews, the scientists analyzed data from nine rigorous clinical trials involving 485 adults. They found that people assigned to diets in which they consumed most of their calories at the start of the day lost more weight than people who did the opposite. They also had greater improvements in blood sugar, cholesterol and insulin sensitivity, a risk indicator for diabetes.
In another study published in cellular metabolism in October, scientists recruited a group of adults and looked at what happened when they ate a more daytime diet for six days. The schedule was for breakfast at 8:00, lunch at noon and dinner at 4:00.
On a separate occasion, the same participants followed a successive meal plan, with each meal delayed by four hours over a six-day period. The study was small but tightly controlled, involving 16 people who were closely monitored and maintained a rigorous sleep and wake schedule in a laboratory setting.
The researchers found that despite eating the same foods and maintaining the same levels of physical activity, the participants felt significantly hungrier when they followed the next meal plan.
A look at their hormone levels showed why: Eating afterwards caused their levels of ghrelin, a hormone to rise appetiteincrease, by suppressing levels of leptin, a hormone that causes satiety.
The study found that eating later caused participants to burn less fat and fewer calories and forced their fat cells to store more fat.
“To our surprise, we found that all three mechanisms were consistently altered in the direction that promotes weight gain,” said Frank Scheer, senior author of the study and director of the Medical Chronobiology Program in the Division of Sleep and Cycle Disorders. Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Other studies have had similar results. In a randomized study at Johns Hopkins, scientists found that healthy young adults burned less fat and had a 20 percent increase in blood sugar levels when they ate dinner at 10 p.m. compared to when they ate the same dinner at 6 p.m. .
“It’s clear that meal timing matters, not just what you eat, but also when you eat it,” said Jonathan Jun, associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins and lead author of the study. “Eating late makes you less tolerant of glucose and causes your body to burn less fat than if you ate the same food before.”
Strategies
Scientists who study meal timing say the following strategies can help you optimize your health:
– Don’t skip breakfast. Marta Garaulet and colleagues found that skipping breakfast increases the risk of obesity. Mornings are when our bodies are ready to metabolize food. If you don’t usually feel hungry in the morning, eat something light and then have a big lunch. “Try to eat the most calories in the morning or afternoon, but not at night,” she said.
– Carbs in the morning are better than those at the end of the day. If you’re going to eat sweets or simple carbohydrates such as bread, pasta and sweets, it’s best to do it in the morning or early afternoon, when we’re most sensitive to insulin, says Marta Garaulet.
– Try dinner in the early evening. Start by moving dinner at least an hour earlier than usual. Ideally, you should have dinner two to three hours before bed.
– Make dinner the smallest meal of the day. Even if you can’t get to dinner early, try to make breakfast and lunch the largest meals of the day and dinner the smallest. If you are used to eating a small lunch and a large dinner, change the order. You can make your dinner a vegetable-heavy meal to lighten it up. “Try shifting calories to breakfast and lunch,” said Courtney Peterson, an associate professor in the nutritional sciences department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
– Try to control meal times at least five days a week. Sometimes it’s not practical to have a smaller or earlier dinner, and that’s okay. In studies, Peterson found that people who ate a lighter dinner five days a week still saw benefits, such as better blood sugar control and less daily fatigue. “Don’t think of it as all or nothing,” Peterson said. “Maybe some days you won’t be able to do it because you go out to eat with the family. But other days you’ll be able to do it, and that’s great. It’s important that you do what’s most practical for you.”
Scientists have discovered several mechanisms that explain why eating early is good for health. Our bodies are better able to secrete insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar levels, in the morning.
We also tend to be more sensitive to insulin earlier in the day, which means our muscles are better able to absorb and use glucose from the bloodstream. But as the day progresses, we become less and less sensitive to insulin. At night, the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas become slower and less responsive to high blood sugar.
Another important factor is hormone-sensitive lipase, an enzyme that releases fat from our fat cells. This enzyme is typically most active at night, so it can provide our bodies with energy to keep our organs functioning while we sleep.
But Marta Garaulet found that eating late at night suppresses this enzyme, essentially preventing the body from burning fat. “We see a big difference between people who have dinner, say, four hours before bed,” she said, “and those who have dinner about an hour before bed.” / TRANSLATION BY RENATO PRELORENTZOU
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
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