When We Eat, or Don’t Eat, May Be Critical for Health

When We Eat, or Don’t Eat, May Be Critical for Health

A growing body of research suggests that our bodies function optimally(ˈäptəm(ə)lē) when we align(əˈlīn) our eating patterns with our circadian(sərˈkādēən) rhythms(ˈriT͟Həm).

By Anahad O’Connor

Nutrition(n(y)o͞oˈtriSHən) scientists have long debated(diˈbāt) the best diet(ˈdī-it) for optimal health. But now some experts believe that it’s not just what we eat that’s critical for good health, but when we eat it.

A growing body of research suggests that our bodies function optimally when we align our eating patterns with our circadian rhythms, the innate(iˈnāt) 24-hour cycles(ˈsīkəl) that tell our bodies when to wake up, when to eat and when to fall asleep. Studies show that chronically(ˈkräniklē) disrupting(disˈrəpt) this rhythm — by eating late meals(mēl) or nibbling(ˈnibəl) on midnight snacks(snak), for example — could be a recipe(ˈresəˌpē
) for weight gain and metabolic(ˈmetəˈbälik) trouble(ˈtrəbəl).

That is the premise(ˈpremis) of a new book, “The Circadian Code,” by Satchin Panda, a professor(prəˈfesər) at the Salk Institute and an expert on circadian rhythms research. Dr. Panda argues that people improve their metabolic health when they eat their meals in a daily 8- to 10-hour window, taking their first bite(bīt) of food in the morning and their last bite early in the evening.

This approach, known as early time-restricted(riˈstriktid) feeding, stems(stem) from the idea that human metabolism(məˈtabəˌlizəm) follows a daily rhythm, with our hormones(ˈhôrˌmōn), enzymes(ˈenzīm) and digestive(dəˈjestiv, dīˈjestiv) systems primed(prīm) for food intake in the morning and afternoon. Many people, however, snack and graze(grāz) from roughly the time they wake up until shortly before they go to bed. Dr. Panda has found in his research that the average person eats over a 15-hour or longer period each day, starting with something like milk and coffee shortly after rising(ˈrīziNG) and ending with a glass of wine(wīn), a late night meal or a handful of chips, nuts or some other snack shortly before bed.

That pattern of eating, he says, conflicts with our biological(ˌbīəˈläjikəl) rhythms.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/well/when-we-eat-or-dont-eat-may-be-critical-for-health.html