Is Biological Timing the Key to Losing Weight?
When it comes to losing weight, many people want to know what the best diet is. But increasing research shows that when you eat may just as important for your health and weight as what you eat. The importance of when we eat is tied to our internal 24-hour biological timing system, called the circadian system. This is controlled by a master clock in the brain which helps regulate many metabolic processes in the body — including digestion, the release of hormones, and blood sugar levels, as well as when we sleep, wake up and eat. Regular circadian rhythms (our eating and sleeping times) help to maintain normal body functions.
From a physiological perspective — for humans and many other mammals, at least — the body is used to us eating when it’s light and sleeping when it’s dark. This is in sync with our circadian rhythm. Emerging evidence from the field of chrono-nutrition shows that eating more in line with this natural biological rhythm may help boost your health and wellbeing and potentially help with weight loss.
Timing your meals: If you prefer to skip breakfast in favor of eating later in the day, you’re not alone. The majority of people in the UK consume most of their day’s calories in the evening. But given our body’s preference for daylight, there may be some advantage to eating breakfast — or at least, getting more of our day’s calories into our diets earlier on.
Excerpted from Salon
