Key message: Confining kilojoule consumption to an eight-to-12 hour period – as past generations did – might stave off high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity.
Action point: If you want to lose weight in a healthy way, join me for my next Community Cleanse, kicking off August 23rd.. Time-restricted feeding is included in Level 2 of Cleanse and I will give you not only menu plans but also an eBook with easy step-by-step instructions. http://www.emmascommunitycleanse.com.au/
Do you believe that the only reliable way to lose weight is to make sure calories ‘out’ are greater than calories ‘in’?
Well, think again. Recent research by The Salk Institute for Biological Studies suggests that how many calories you eat is not as important as when you eat them.
Time-restricted feeding
Back in 2012, researchers found that most of the health problems mice get from eating a high-fat diet could be eliminated if they only ate during an eight-hour period. Mice given all-day access to the same food consumed the same number of calories but were much fatter and in poorer health 1.
Now researchers from the same lab have found that restricting the time of day when you eat has the potential to offer additional and substantial health benefits. When you eat can even reverse obesity and diabetes, at least in mice.
To further explore the possible therapeutic potential of time-restricted feeding (TRF), recent Salk research applied a number of time-restricted feeding/fasting regimes, including a totally free feeding regime, to a number of different situations. This included where the subject mice suffered pre-existing obesity, where the diets were varied – eg high fat, high fructose and high fat plus high fructose – and where the duration of feeding time was varied 2.
The researchers confirmed the earlier finding that TRF – 9-hour, 12-hour and 15-hour restrictions – was effective. Mice fed high-fat and high-sucrose diets gained less weight and gained it more slowly when the eating period was restricted. When mice fed in a TRF regime were allowed to eat throughout the day, they gained weight but their eventual weight gain stabilised at a much lower point than a control group of mice fed without time restrictions.
Benefits for metabolic disease
The study also found that TRF reduced both the accumulation of whole body fat in mice subjects fed a high-fat diet and reduced associated inflammation. Other TRF health benefits significant for the metabolic diseases that often accompany obesity (type II diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer) included:
- improved glucose tolerance
- reduced insulin resistance
- increased nutrient stability and metabolic fitness (eg TRF mice exhibited better coordination and mobility)
- restored cholesterol homeostasis.
These effects all seem to be linked to the body’s biological clock. Eating on a schedule appears to synchronise hundreds of genes and gene products. The synchronisation makes the body’s metabolism run more efficiently.
To date, this Salk Institute research has been conducted on mice so its applicability to humans remains a question mark. But the results are intriguing and further research about the benefits of time-restricted eating for weight loss and general health is well worth following.
References:
1. Hatori, Megumi et al. (2012) Time-Restricted Feeding without Reducing Caloric Intake Prevents Metabolic Diseases in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet. Cell Metabolism, Volume 15, Issue 6, 848 – 860
2. Chaix, Amandine et al. (2014) Time-Restricted Feeding Is a Preventative and Therapeutic Intervention against Diverse Nutritional Challenges. Cell Metabolism, Volume 20, Issue 6, 991 – 1005
Kat Boehringer
Freelance journalist and editor
Kat Boehringer specialises in health communications including health writing, health promotions, and social media management. In her spare time she works as a massage therapist and aspiring novelist. Connect with her at LinkedIn.
