Study: We need to eat according to circadian rhythms

Meal timing should be synchronized with circadian rhythms, a study by scientists at Northwestern University has shown.

In experiments on laboratory mice, researchers found that limiting food intake to the active period of the circadian rhythm limits weight gain and also improves metabolic health by increasing the rate of creatine metabolism in heat-producing fat cells. We're talking about adipocyte cells, which use energy from excess calories from the diet. White adipose tissue stores energy and brown tissue burns the excess, releasing heat and maintaining our body temperature through thermogenesis.

Circadian rhythms regulate the body on a 24-hour cycle that controls many processes, including sleep and wakefulness cycles, hormonal activity and body temperature. Each day, this internal clock of ours is reset by the cycle of changing light and dark after sunset and sunrise. People can use supplements with the sleep hormone melatonin to regulate the timing of these cycles.

Experiments have shown that time-limited eating can reduce excess weight as well as improve metabolic health in both rodents and humans. Experiments in mice have demonstrated that untimely feeding with an inactive phase of the circadian clock can contribute to weight gain.

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