Light fasting is one of the most popular ways of eating, light fasting, scientific name intermittent fasting, refers to sometimes normal eating, sometimes eat less or no eating, eating and fasting alternately a dietary pattern, specifically divided into:
16:8 Regimen (Time-Limited Eating, TRF): Fasting for 16 hours of the day, eating for 8 hours, calories during eating.
5:2 regimen: Eat 5 days a week, fasting days for 2 days, and limit caloric intake to 500-600 calories on fasting days.
Alternate-day fasting regimen: eat one day, no food or eat less for one day (more extreme drinking only water and sugar-free coffee and tea on fasting days).
Multiple studies have shown that light fasting not only reduces weight, but also regulates blood sugar and lipids, improves insulin sensitivity, changes the intestinal flora, and even delays aging.
Compared with "calorie restriction" to endure hunger every day, eating an extra piece of meat must be weighed, light fasting does not limit calories, and it can also be indulged during eating and is welcomed. Among them, the acceptance of the 16:8 time-limited eating plan is the highest.
The question is, only 8 hours a day can be used to eat and eat, eat early or late? Wouldn't it be beautiful to sleep until noon on weekends and let go of eating before 8 p.m. (12:00-20:00)?
However, the latest research from the team of Professor Mao Yilei and Yang Huayu of Peking Union Medical College Hospital shows that the eating time of 16:8 light fasting is controlled at 6:00-15:00 (early eating) is much better than 11:00-20:00 (mid-range eating), in other words, not eating dinner is the focus of light fasting! The study was published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications.
Prior to the start of the trial, 90 healthy volunteers matched in age, sex, weight, and BMI were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio:
Early Feeding Group (eTRF): Limit eating time between 6:00-15:00
Mid-feeding group (mTRF): Limit eating time between 11:00-20:00
Casual eating group: Unlimited eating time
In the 5-week trial, 82 volunteers finally persevered, including 28 people in the early feeding group, 26 people in the middle feeding group, and 28 people in the casual eating group, and the volunteers who ate for a limited time adhered to the diet plan: 96.8% of the early eating group and 98.2% of the middle feeding group, and no serious adverse reaction events occurred during the trial.
The results of the test after 5 weeks showed:
Although only the time of eating was limited, and there was no calorie limit, the daily intake of the two groups of volunteers who ate for a limited time was lower than that of the casual eating group.
Metabolically, early feeding was most pronounced in reducing insulin resistance and fasting blood glucose (HOMA-IR Early Feeding Group Δ = 1.08 ± 1.59, Mid-Stage Eating Group Δ = 0.39 ± 0.71, p
In terms of weight loss, the volunteers in the early feeding group lost more weight, while there was not much change between the mid-feeding group and the control group (weight: Δ = 1.6 ± 1.4 kg in the early feeding group, Δ = 0.2 ± 2.2 kg in the middle feeding group, and Δ = 0.3 ± 1.2 kg in the casual eating group, p = 0.009). The decrease in body fat percentage and body fat volume was also greater in the early feeding group (Figure e f).
The increase in inflammation levels in the body is thought to be related to blood glucose disorders and disorders of blood lipid metabolism, while early eating reduces the inflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-8 better than mid-range eating and random eating. Eating early also increases the diversity of the gut microbiota, which means that the gut microbiome is healthier.
TNF-α: Δ = 0.81 ± 1.98 pg/mL in the early feeding group, Δ = 0.06 ± 0.95 pg/mL in the middle feeding group, Δ = 0.39 ± 1.35 pg/mL, p = 0.024;
IL-8: Δ = 1.9 ± 4.5 pg/mL in the early feeding group, Δ = 1.0 ± 5.5 pg/mL in the mid-feeding group, Δ = 1.1 ± 2.9 pg/mL, p = 0.045)
α-diversity: Δ = 18.0 ± 44.0 in the early feeding group, 11.2 ± 51.6 in the middle feeding group, Δ = 10.2 ± 35.0 in the casual feeding group, and p = 0.049
In addition, the researchers also analyzed whether the sleep quality and appetite of the volunteers in each group changed, and the results did not differ much between the three groups, that is, whether they ate in the early or middle stages, there was no "hungry sleep" and a large increase in appetite, and compared with the control group, the time-limited eating group ate (meals and snacks) even less.
At this point, the conclusion has been obvious: 16:8 light fasting, eating time should be early and not late, the eating time should be controlled at 6:00-15:00 in the morning, more conducive to improving insulin sensitivity, reducing fasting blood sugar, weight loss and fat loss, anti-inflammatory, promote intestinal health, in other words, no food at noon (here refers to 15:00), in order to maximize the role of light fasting.
As for why meals are best eaten in the morning and noon, researchers believe that this may be related to the circadian rhythm of the biological clock.
The body's blood sugar, lipid and energy metabolism are regulated by the biological clock in the receptor, and there are fluctuations in the day, and the early morning is the time when insulin sensitivity is the highest, the islet β cells respond the fastest, and the food heat effect (the phenomenon of increasing energy consumption due to eating) is at its strongest.
No wonder the old saying goes: eat well for breakfast, eat enough for lunch, eat fine and less in the evening, and the importance of breakfast and lunch can be seen.
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Written by | Four five seven
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