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Beyond choosing the right food or counting calories, dieting should also consider the timing of each meal, according to scientists. This was the finding of a multi-university study from Spain, which appeared in the International Journal of Obesity.
Time-restricted eating requires a person to eat within certain periods of the day. For example, he can eat all the food you need in a day in an eight-hour time period, such as from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The remaining hours of the day will be allotted to fasting.
For the study, the team conducted an experiment on 12-week old male mice, which were fed a high-fat diet eight hours a day. One group of mice was subjected to time-restricted feeding (tRF), while another group ate food at any time they desired, also known as ad-lib feeding.
The scientists reported that tRF mice consumed the same number of calories found in a high-fat diet without becoming obese. The mice also didn’t develop hyperinsulinemia (high levels of insulin), hepatic steatosis (fatty liver) or inflammation and even showed better motor coordination.
The tRF mice also maximized the nutrients they consumed. This was in contrast with the ad-lib mice, which showed higher insulin levels and were obese.
The study presented another way of fighting obesity by timing mealtimes. It showed that food intake based on the body’s natural rhythm keeps weight down and prevents obesity-related disease. The scientists attributed this to the fact that mice on an ad-lib diet had shorter fasting periods than those on a tRF regimen. Since the former ate whenever they wanted, their body’s circadian and feeding rhythms were interrupted and obesity, along with higher insulin levels, was seen.
The tRF type of feeding, on the other hand, follows the body’s internal clock. It doesn’t disrupt the body’s cellular metabolic system. Thus, it helped the mice stay healthy.
These findings support another study, this time from Harvard University, which showed that regardless of diet, mealtimes that clash with the body’s circadian rhythm creates an 18% spike in blood sugar levels. This means greater amounts of the fat-storing hormone insulin are released in the body.
How do you help your body maintain its ideal weight by timing mealtimes according to the body’s rhythms?
Here’s a suggested meal-to-meal guide:
Too busy to follow the recommended timeline? That’s fine, as long as the meals are healthy. It also helps to eat only when you’re hungry, but not ravenous, and to leave the table when you’re satisfied.
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