Research has shown that time-restricted eating can improve metabolic health outcomes. It is about consuming more daily calories in the morning. Scientists say this approach can stabilize weight and blood sugar fluctuations.
We are talking about the work of scientists from the United States, who evaluated the health impact of time-restricted eating (calorie restriction before the first eight hours of the day). Previous research has shown that this form of intermittent fasting can improve cardiometabolic health and stabilize blood sugar levels. However, the team wanted to determine if these improvements were due to weight loss or a fasting strategy.
The researchers compared two groups of participants with prediabetes and obesity. In the first group, people were given 80 percent of their daily calories before 1:00 pm, while the second had a regular diet where 50 percent of their daily calories were consumed after 4:00 pm. Patients were randomly assigned to groups, and after seven days they were transferred to the alternative group also for a week. Patients wore blood sugar monitors throughout the study.
Scientists found that the weight of the participants was stable throughout the study. However, early time-limited feeding resulted in a decrease in the mean amplitude of the glycemic deviation and a decrease in time above the range (blood glucose > 140 mg/dL) — vs. normal diet group. The time range was the same for both groups.
According to the study, a time-restricted diet, due to its effect on blood sugar levels, can prevent the progression of type 2 diabetes in people with prediabetes or obesity.