There’s a reason why a ton of diets are considered fads, because they don’t always work in the long run. Plus it’s a studied fact that attempting to keep a healthy weight as you get older, along with your metabolism slowing down as you age as well, makes it that much harder to stay fit.
It isn’t just weight gain and a lowered metabolism that people need to watch out for as they age. Keeping blood sugar levels down and within a healthy range is also something that needs more attention than it used to when they were younger. And while everyone knows that what they eat and how much is important, a new study has also found that what time they eat it is just as crucial.
These days, when talking about overall health, blood sugar and body weight, words like intermittent fasting (IF) and time-restricted feeding have become quite common. New studies and research have found that the time people eat is just as important as what they decide to consume. One particular study that was published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism released results that showed an earlier dinnertime is beneficial to one’s health – mostly for better fat metabolism and blood sugar levels.
John Hopkins University researchers intended to find out how eating dinner later on in the evenings can actually cause individuals to gain weight, as well as end up with heightened blood sugar levels as well. Former research has also mostly shown that eating late is associated to being overweight as well as diabetic, but they haven’t explained the actual cause of why the two are linked in the first place.
When this study was done, they had a total of 20 people, 10 male and 10 female volunteers that were considered healthy. The research followed their health progress, analyzing their metabolism by “eating dinner at 10 p.m. versus eating at 6 p.m., and going to bed at 11 p.m.”
Volunteers had body fat scans before they began the study, and all participants were tasked to wear activity trackers all throughout. These trackers were used to monitor their heart rates and sleep, while they also underwent blood tests to check their blood glucose levels. They also monitored their fat metabolism using an oral lipid tracer. Notably, all volunteers were given the same meals all throughout the study to make sure that the findings were accurate.
In the end, the study found that those that ate dinner late had higher blood sugar levels and lower fat metabolism. Even when subjects were given the same meals or food to eat, the study found that “eating dinner at 10 p.m. resulted in blood sugar levels that went up as much as 20 percent, while fat burning was reduced by as much as 10 percent when compared with the earlier dinner.”
Chenjuan Gu, PhD, one of the authors of the study explained, “The effects we have seen in healthy volunteers might be more pronounced in people with obesity or diabetes, who already have a compromised metabolism.”
Having an early dinner doesn’t only benefit people’s blood sugar levels and metabolism, but other research has also indicated that it alleviates heartburn, gives you a better night of sleep, and allows more time for better digestion, amongst other health benefits.
So if you’re wondering how to keep in better shape, especially as you get older, then try to have dinner by 6 p.m. latest, especially if you tend to go to bed at 11 p.m.. At least you know that you will be not only be doing wonderful things for your body, but you will feeling better and stronger even as you age!
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