The Christmas and New Year holidays are periods of overeating that many of us cannot control. This situation often leads to “festive excess weight”. As the holidays approach, is there a recipe for limiting this weight gain while paving the way for sustainable health based on nutrition?
[Article issu de The Conversation, écrit par Thomas C. Erren, Professor, University of Cologne, Philip Lewis, Research associate, University of Cologne, Ursula Wild, Research Associate, University of Cologne]
We focus a lot on what we eat and how much we eat, but what about when we eat?
Chrononutrition is the science that studies how meal times influence how we respond to the nutrients we consume. Scientific knowledge on meal times suggests that it may be interesting to explore this avenue to improve health.
While the idea of embarking on Christmas chrononutrition may seem like a difficult challenge to take on, the guilty conscience one may feel during the holidays can provide the motivation needed for the year to come.
For better health in the new year, why not try intermittent fasting? The TRE (for English “Time-restricted fasting”, Editor’s note) is a type of intermittent fasting: a person eats all meals and snacks within a given window of time, ranging from six to twelve hours per day. Which led her to fast for 12 to 18 hours.
A growing body of research suggests that this meal schedule can have a significant influence on our health through the interactions between our body clocks and nutrition.
As researchers specializing in circadian clock biology, we identified the holiday season as an appropriate starting point for a lifestyle change based on schedule-based dietary restriction.
What is chrononutrition?
The basic idea of chrononutrition is that the body's response to meal times can promote well-being and health through the circadian clock. This timing system refers to the internal 24-hour mechanism that prepares our body for the challenges and stimuli of the 24-hour day. This includes the periods during which nutrients are likely to be consumed, how they are assimilated within the body at a specific time, and how the body will react to these nutrients at a specific time.
An experiment conducted on rodents in the 1930s led to an emphasis on calorie counting and calorie-restricted feeding. In this scenario, this dietary restriction extended the lifespan of the rats. It was then applied to a wide range of species. The promise is big: if you eat less, you can lose weight, be healthier and live longer.
After this experiment on rodents, research followed on diets that promote health and prevent disease. In the 1980s, it was Franz Halberg (known as the father of American chronobiology), among others, who sparked interest in “meal-timing, circadian rhythms and lifespan” (in French, “the meal period, circadian rhythms and lifestyle”, Editor’s note).
These studies of eating behavior take evolutionary considerations into account. For example, rodents are in better shape when fed at set times. In contrast, human behavior tends to involve more erratic attitudes around eating during hours when people are awake.
Lifestyle changes
So what practical advice can we give during the end-of-year holidays in the field of chronobiology, a discipline of medicine awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize? This field has been recognized for its discoveries about how internal clocks organize our physiology and allow us to live in harmony with the external rhythms of day and night.
The results obtained in this area highlight the benefit of a simple change in lifestyle: limiting the time spent on eating to around 8 to 10 hours per day could protect against the development of obesity. , or mitigate the negative health effects of pre-existing obesity. Additionally, this restriction of meal times can be effective even if practiced only five days a week.
It's important to note that if you can reduce the long window (e.g., 15 hours) in which you usually eat to an 8-hour limited eating window, you will likely benefit more than someone who reduces their eating window , usually from 10 a.m. to 8 a.m. Reducing eating time windows has already been found to help some overweight people lose weight, sleep better and feel more energetic. (But a diet during which eating periods are restricted over time would not necessarily be more beneficial than daily calorie restriction, on criteria such as weight loss, fat mass editor's note or metabolic risk factors.)
It is true that most of the data comes from animal studies. Now, humans are certainly not big mice. However, there have been no reports of harmful effects of this practice in humans. However, one report notes possible harm to offspring in an animal model of food restriction where the animal is pregnant.
A late breakfast and an early dinner
Why not try what some studies suggest and start eating at set times over the Christmas and New Year period, or put it on your New Year's resolution list?
To start, try having a late breakfast and an earlier dinner. Of course, if you have any doubts about the impact of time-restricted food intake – or if you have medical or dietary restrictions, or if you are pregnant – seek advice from your doctor first.
Beyond paying attention to caloric intake and food composition, asking “when do we eat” is relatively simple and potentially sustainable.
With an unwavering passion for local news, Christopher leads our editorial team with integrity and dedication. With over 20 years’ experience, he is the backbone of Wouldsayso, ensuring that we stay true to our mission to inform.
