- Early time-restricted feeding is when an individual restricts their everyday consuming to the very first 6 to 8 hours of the day.
- Researchers state this consuming pattern can help support changes in blood sugar levels and lower the danger of establishing prediabetes.
- Experts state one factor early time-restricted feeding works is that it enables individuals to be physically active after they’ve completed consuming for the day.
Early time-restricted consuming can enhance changes in blood sugar levels.
That’s according to a research study provided today at the Endocrine Society’s yearly conference.
In their findings, which haven’t been released yet in a peer-review journal, scientists report that this form of periodic fasting can likewise decrease the quantity of time blood sugar levels are above typical levels.
“Our research shows that just one week of following this diet strategy reduces fluctuations in blood sugar levels and reduces the time that the blood sugar is elevated above normal levels,” Dr. Joanne Bruno, a research study author and an endocrinology fellow at NYU Langone Health in New York, said in a press declaration.
“This suggests early time-restricted feeding may be a helpful strategy for those with prediabetes or obesity to keep their blood sugars in a normal range and prevent them from progressing to type 2 diabetes,” she included.
Early time-restricted feeding is a form of consuming that limits consuming to just the very first 6 to 8 hours in the day.
To take a look at the effect of this approach of dieting on blood sugar levels, the scientists established a research study in which they compared early time limited consuming with a usual diet plan pattern.
Ten individuals who had prediabetes or weight problems were assigned to either the early time limited feeding group where they consumed 80% of their calories prior to 1 p.m. or the normal feeding pattern group, where they consumed 50% of their calories after 4 p.m.
They preserved this diet plan for 7 days prior to changing to the other approach for the next week.
Study individuals used a constant glucose display throughout of the research study. Additionally, they had their glucose tolerance evaluated prior to the research study started and likewise at day 7 and day 14.
The scientists reported that the weight of the individuals was steady for the complete 2 weeks of the research study. The early time limited feeding method of consuming resulted in a reduced time invested above the typical blood sugar variety when compared to the normal consuming pattern.
“Eating the majority of one’s calories earlier in the day reduces the time that the blood sugar is elevated, thereby improving metabolic health,” Bruno said.
The scientists said more research studies are required to figure out if early time limited feeding might be utilized as an efficient intervention technique for enhancing blood sugar levels.
Dr. Pouya Shafipour, a family and weight problems medication doctor at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in California, said the findings of the research study aren’t unexpected and support his own suggestions to clients.
“I’ve been recommending time restricted eating… since 2015. I also started practicing it myself. Studies show prolonged fasting and time restricted eating does help with insulin sensitivity and stabilizing blood sugar levels. So it puts the body in or extends the level of ketosis that we get into late at night. So the ketosis, in a sense, stabilizes blood sugar control more, and it prevents highs and lows, the peaks and valleys of blood sugar,” he informed Medical News Today.
Early time limited feeding is simply one form of periodic fasting.
Other examples consist of the 5:2 diet plan, which includes consuming typically for 5 days of the week and consuming just 500 to 600 calories on 2 days of the week.
Another approach is the 16:8 diet plan, which includes fasting for 16 hours and consuming just within an 8 hour window.
Dr. Marilyn Tan, an endocrinologist at Stanford University in California, says a possible advantage to consuming most of calories in the earlier part of the day is having the chance to be active after consuming.
“In America at least, we eat the majority of our calories in the evening with dinner. Very frequently that’s our biggest meal of the day and then afterwards we’re sedentary, we sit down in front of the TV or the computer, and then we go to sleep, and don’t move for eight hours. So we don’t really have an opportunity to exercise and improve the insulin sensitivity after that,” she informed Medical News Today.
“We don’t fully understand the mechanisms of the improved metabolic benefit of shifting that time restricted eating to earlier in the day,” Tan included. “But one possibility is just that we are more active during the day. And so if people are walking around more, doing more physical activity shortly after they eat that may improve the glucose response. This study suggests that it’s not just a time restriction, but it’s the timing of that time restriction that is causing a significant benefit. There hasn’t been a large randomized trial, but there have been other studies looking at this and there have been other studies that suggested that earlier time window… has metabolic benefits beyond just doing it later in the day.”
Dr. Anne Peters, an endocrinologist at Keck Medicine of USC in California, says time-restricted consuming can be useful for cardio-metabolic health, however it needs to be done under the instructions of a doctor.
“The human body is not meant to always be in the ‘fed state.’ We are meant to have periods of fasting and being a little bit ketotic (which happens with fasting) is good for the heart,” she informed Medical News Today.
“Time-restricted eating is medically safe under the direction of a physician. However, it is important not to get dehydrated so drinking non-sugary fluids is good,” Peters kept in mind. “These time-restricted eating approaches seem to work best if people are consistent, so they should choose the best time for themselves.”
