The Circadian System is a complex 24-hour timekeeping system that controls behavior and metabolism through the central clock of the brain and additional clocks of organs such as the liver and pancreas.
Because of this system, our metabolism reacts differently depending on when we eat, resulting in daily variations in post-meal glucose processing and hormone release.
Food intake itself serves as an important signal that helps regulate the internal clock.
For example, sometimes meals that are out of sync with the bright dark cycles of nature can disrupt these internal clocks, for example, when working on night shifts, leading to negative effects of metabolic effects.
Researchers at the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (Dife), recently used data from twin studies conducted between 2009-10 to investigate the link between blood glucose metabolism and evening meal times.
Previous studies have shown that eating late at night is associated with an increased risk of obesity and heart disease.
However, they do not fully understand how dietary timing interacts with a person's individual circadian rhythm and how it affects glucose metabolism and risk of diabetes.
Furthermore, dietary habits are shaped by a mixture of cultural, circumstantial, genetic and other biological factors, so the specific mechanisms of when and why people eat remain unknown.
The timing of food intake associated with a person's biological daily rhythm can be assessed by looking at the gap between mealtime and sleep.
The midpoint of sleep refers to the exact time between falling asleep and waking up, which indicates the chronotype of a person, namely whether they are early birds or night owls.
Nugat's study was conducted between 2009 and 2010 at the German human nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (Dife).
To recruit participants, researchers used twin registry (HealthWist, Berlin, Germany) and public ads. In total, 92 people (46 pairs of the same twins and sibling twins) participated.
The twins completed two nutritional interventions during the study, but these interventions were not related to the results described here.
All participants received a comprehensive metabolic assessment, including physical examination, medical history review, atomic measurements and glucose tolerance tests. Their individual chronotypes were identified using a questionnaire.
Additionally, each participant kept a handwritten food diary for five days (three and two weeks of week weekend), recorded the start and end times of each meal, and details of the type and amount of food consumed.
This approach helped me to capture a realistic picture of their usual eating habits.
Overall, the analysis showed that due to low insulin sensitivity, there was a tendency to eat final meals later in the day, approaching bedtime, and there was less effective glucose (glycemia) metabolism at the end of the day.
This may suggest that better tuning our meal times may help us maintain our metabolic health.
Destini Moody, RD, CSSD, LD, top nutrition coaches registered dietitians who were not involved in this study, reviewed the study and spoke to Medical News about their findings.
“In general, I'm skeptical of adjusting my diet in the hopes of controlling my weight and blood sugar levels unless I'm diabetic,” Moody said.
“My colleague and I were kidding that your digestive system wouldn't work on the shift, meaning that after a certain time, we decided to store everything as fat,” she added.
“It is well known that timing and dietary composition is important for controlling blood glucose and insulin effects in diabetic patients, but this study was conducted on healthy individuals with normal pancreatic function. Even in the absence of diabetes, people with metabolic syndrome should be aware of the level of insulin resistance, but any of the agingers in this category do not give any of the was in this category. 32, relatively young.”
– Destini Moody, RD, CSSD, LD
“When it comes to the genetic factors of how feeding timing affects insulin sensitivity, this is a mixed bag. [too]”Moody further pointed out: “On the one hand, that's an interesting finding, but on the other hand, it's difficult to detect and control genetic factors.”
“In general, blood glucose fluctuations are a natural part of digestion and metabolism, and urge the public to refrain from emphasizing the effects of food on blood glucose unless there are metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes,” she advised.
But she emphasized that it is always important to pay attention to the amount of fiber we intake and how much it comes from sophisticated grains.
“Foods that are added with sugar and are made from sophisticated grains, and generally low fiber will quickly raise blood sugar levels and collide due to their rebound effects. A whole healthier diet that will help prevent the risk of chronic disease.”
