The time of meals and the number of hours our body is fed are important elements to take into account to improve our health.

An erratic diet by eating irregular meals disrupts normal metabolism, making it difficult to significantly alter several metabolic parameters.

To counter this problem, it is recognized today that the diurnal regulation of metabolism by the alternation of fasting and diet could be a promising treatment for the metabolic syndrome. In addition, a time-limited diet shows benefits for blood glucose.

By restricting the length of time we eat, researchers have found promising results in controlling blood glucose levels in men at risk for type 2 diabetes.

RESTRICTED FEEDING IN TIME

In a small study published in Obesity on April 23, 2019, researchers at the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Institute for Health Research and Research (SAHMRI) evaluated the effects of diet restricted in time in 15 men during a week.

Men, who are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, have limited their food intake to nine hours a day. Participants took limited time meals, from 8:00 to 17:00, or later in the day, from 12:00 to 21:00. They followed a normal diet during this period and had to continue to eat all the food they usually eat.

The glycemic response to a standard meal was assessed each day of the study. Investigators found that a time-restricted diet improved glucose control, no matter when men decided to stop eating.

The results of this study, however small, reinforce the evidence of several previous studies that demonstrate the importance of limiting the time range during which we feed our body.

EAT EARLY IN THE DAY AND IN A LAPSE OF SHORT TIME

The results suggest that modulating our feeding time, rather than what we eat, can improve blood glucose control. The researchers found a small amount of weight loss in this study, which may have contributed to the results.

By eating earlier in the day with a quality breakfast and in a shorter time, it is possible to better align your diet with the circadian rhythms of the metabolism.

By reducing the time range of your meals on a time between 6am and 9am, it is possible to improve insulin sensitivity, the reactivity of beta cells (beta cells are one of the cell types of the pancreas), improved blood pressure, appetite (more satiety, less cravings), and reduce oxidative stress (cellular damage).

It should be noted that, unlike many dietary strategies, restricting food over time does not require a radical change in the quantity or quality of the food you consume, which facilitates its implementation.

While this limited diet may initially be difficult for some people depending on their professional activities, the researchers point out that it is quickly easier to manage than many other dietary practices.

The authors find through this eating practice a clear improvement in tolerance to fasting glucose. The increased risk level of study participants has risen to a normal level without changing any of the foods they like to eat.

Whatever your lifestyle, the goal is to be limited to a short time between your first bite and your last bite of food, while bringing the essentials to your body.

Remember that eating late desynchronizes the circadian rhythm and increases the BMI.

The researchers conclude by explaining that time-restricted diets show that we can savor foods that are perceived as "bad" for us, if we eat them at the right time of the day, when our bodies are better able to manage them, and more importantly, if we allow our bodies to have more time to fast each night.

This means that by not changing what you eat (unless your diet is catastrophic in terms of intake and quality), but by simply eating all your calories in a certain amount of time, it is possible to improve your health and lose weight naturally.

To this healthy practice, do not forget to pay attention to the quality of your hydration, your sleep and to practice a physical activity or an adapted sport as regularly as possible.

SOURCES EXTERNES

• Amy T. Hutchison, Prashant Regmi, Emily N.C. Manoogian, Jason G. Fleischer, Gary A. Wittert, Satchidananda Panda, Leonie K. Heilbronn. Time‐Restricted Feeding Improves Glucose Tolerance in Men at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Crossover Trial. Obesity, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/oby.22449, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/oby.22449

• Effects of 8-hour time restricted feeding on body weight and metabolic disease risk factors in obese adults: A pilot study. Nutr Healthy Aging. 2018 Jun 15;4(4):345-353. doi: 10.3233/NHA-170036. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=29951594%5BPMID%5D

• Early Time-Restricted Feeding Improves Insulin Sensitivity, Blood Pressure, and Oxidative Stress Even without Weight Loss in Men with Prediabetes. Cell Metab. 2018 Jun 5;27(6):1212-1221.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.04.010. Epub 2018 May 10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29754952

• Effects of eight weeks of time-restricted feeding (16/8) on basal metabolism, maximal strength, body composition, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk factors in resistance-trained males. J Transl Med. 2016 Oct 13;14(1):290. https://translational-medicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12967-016-1044-0