Eating early and limiting your time can improve blood sugar levels

Early time-restricted feeding is a feeding regimen that restricts meal times to only the first 6-8 hours of the day.

To examine the effect of this diet on blood sugar levels, researchers developed a study comparing fast eating to normal eating patterns.

10 prediabetic or obese participants in either an early restricted feeding group that consumes 80% of calories before 1:00 PM or a normal feeding pattern group that consumes 50% of calories after 4:00 PM assigned to.

They maintained this diet for 7 days and then switched to the other method for 1 week.

Study participants wore continuous blood glucose monitors for the duration of the study. In addition, they underwent a glucose tolerance test before study initiation and on days 7 and 14.

The researchers reported that the participants’ weight remained stable throughout the two weeks of the study. Early restricted eating reduced the amount of time spent above the normal blood glucose range when compared to normal eating patterns.

“Consuming most of your calories early in the day shortens the time your blood sugar rises and improves your metabolic health,” says Bruno.

The researchers said further research is needed to determine whether early dietary restriction can be used as an effective intervention strategy to improve blood sugar levels.

Dr. Poya ShaphipurA family and obesity medicine physician at Providence St. John’s Health Center in California, he said the study’s findings were not surprising and supported his own recommendations for patients.

“I’ve been advocating restricted eating since 2015, and I’ve started doing it myself. Studies show that prolonged fasting and restricted eating increase insulin sensitivity, It has been shown to help stabilize blood sugar levels, which means that your body goes into ketosis or has higher levels of ketosis in the middle of the night. It makes it more stable and prevents blood sugar highs and lows, peaks and valleys,” he said. Medical news today.

Early timed feeding is just one form intermittent fasting.

Other examples include the 5:2 diet, where you eat normally 5 days a week and eat only 500-600 calories 2 days a week.

Another method is the 16:8 diet. This involves fasting for 16 hours and eating only within 8 hours.

Dr. Marilyn TanAn endocrinologist at Stanford University in California says a potential benefit of getting most of your calories early in the day is that you get the chance to be active after eating.

“At least in America, we get most of our calories at dinner. You go in and don’t move for eight hours, so you don’t really have a chance to exercise and improve your insulin sensitivity after that,” she said. medical news today.

“We don’t fully understand the mechanism by which changing the diet time earlier in the day improves metabolism,” Tan added. “But one possibility is that we are more active during the day. This study suggests that the timing of the time limit, rather than just the time limit, provides significant benefits.There are no large randomized trials, but this There are other studies that have explored and suggest that doing it earlier in the day… has metabolic benefits beyond just doing it later in the day.”

Dr. Anne PetersAn endocrinologist at the University of Southern California, Keck Medicine, said that timed eating may be beneficial for cardio-metabolic health, but it should be done under the supervision of a doctor. I’m here.

“The human body isn’t in a ‘fed state’ all the time. We get to have periods of fasting, and a little bit of ketosis[that happens during fasting]is good for the heart.” she said. medical news today.

“Timed meals are medically safe under doctor’s orders. However, it’s important not to become dehydrated, so drinking sugar-free fluids is a good idea,” says Peters. said. “This time-restricted approach to eating seems to work best when people are consistent, so you need to choose the time that works best for you.”