Neurodegenerative diseases affect millions of Americans,
especially those who are elderly or approaching old age. These diseases
can cause rapid decline and loss of both one’s well-being and one’s
ability to care for oneself. Although there are several treatments that
can improve or extend the lives of people living with neurodegenerative
disease, there currently are no cures. As a result, most treatments are
focused on slowing disease progression and improving quality of life in
the meantime. New studies have found that restricting eating times may
be an effective way to improve quality of life for those who suffer from
these diseases.
This is hardly the first study to find benefits for people and
animals who restrict their eating times. People who have restricted
eating times are less likely to be obese, to have diabetes and other metabolic issues, and to develop cardiovascular disease.
Although time-restricted eating has been shown to reduce caloric
intake, these benefits have been shown to occur when test subjects eat
the same number of calories overall.
How can timing matter so much? There appear to be several factors.
First, eating affects the circadian rhythm, serving as a cue to the time
of day. When people eat late in the evening or at night, it can cause
delays in melatonin release and other biochemical changes that are not
conducive to a good night of sleep. Second, eating can cause direct
metabolic changes which, while necessary to digest and metabolize food,
are not positive for long periods of time. When we eat, liver cells stop
basic repair and maintenance activities, to instead, focus on storing
fat and producing glucose. High glucose over long periods of time can
lead to diabetes and metabolic disease, while excessive fat storage can
obviously lead to weight gain.
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