from the don't-feed-them-after-midnight dept.
Salk scientists discover that periods of fasting can protect against obesity and diabetes
LA JOLLA—Scientists at the Salk Institute found that mice lacking the biological clocks thought to be necessary for a healthy metabolism could still be protected against obesity and metabolic diseases by having their daily access to food restricted to a 10-hour window.
The work, which appeared in the journal Cell Metabolism on August 30, 2018, suggests that the health problems associated with disruptions to animals' 24-hour rhythms of activity and rest—which in humans is linked to eating for most of the day or doing shift work—can be corrected by eating all calories within a 10-hour window.
"For many of us, the day begins with a cup of coffee first thing in the morning and ends with a bedtime snack 14 or 15 hours later," says Satchidananda Panda, a professor in Salk's Regulatory Biology Laboratory and the senior author of the new paper. "But restricting food intake to 10 hours a day, and fasting the rest, can lead to better health, regardless of our biological clock."
[...] the good news, say the researchers, is that a simple lifestyle such as eating all food within 10 hours can restore balance, stave off metabolic diseases and maintain health. "Many of us may have one or more disease-causing defective genes that make us feel helpless and destined to be sick. The finding that a good lifestyle can beat the bad effects of defective genes opens new hope to stay healthy," says Panda.
So... it's better to watch when you eat that what you eat? Bring on the Twinkies!
Journal Reference:
Amandine Chaix, Terry Lin, Hiep D. Le, Max W. Chang, Satchidananda Panda. Time-Restricted Feeding Prevents Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Mice Lacking a Circadian Clock. Cell Metabolism, 2018; DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.08.004
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 10 2018, @07:07PM
Springs. The sound of springs could be heard from within the room. From the sound, most people would guess that someone was bouncing around on a bed. And they would be correct. Within the room, and on top of the small bed, was... a blob.
It could only be described as a blob. No, if one looked closely, they would see that it was actually a man. It was a man whose head contained no hair except on the sides; a man whose face was filled with craters and fat rolls; a man whose eyes were so small that they could only be described as beads; and a man whose level of energy belied his appearance. This man's name was Howwy.
Howwy bounced on the bed with glee. In fact, despite the man's otherwise hideous appearance, one could say that this bouncing man was truly adorable. The man was alone, and yet he was having so much fun. Wait, alone? No, there was something else there.
Howwy lifted his head up, and a string of saliva connected his mouth to something else's. The thing's eyes were dead; it was to the point where most people would reach the conclusion that it itself was dead. However, this was not the case. You see, the little girl had simply given up all hope; her screams, cries, and begs for mercy did not cause the man to stop, after all, so what was the point? Thus, the naked little girl simply laid motionlessly on the bed and let the man do as he pleased. And that was precisely what Howwy did, until he noticed that the girl was no longer reacting to being violated. The man clicked his tongue and grabbed the girl's head with his fat, grubby hands. Then-
Snap!!! A lump of meat was tossed to the side like the garbage it was; it landed on the same pile as all the other trash, which was to the left of the bed. Howwy snorted, and then grabbed a bound child that was located to the right of the bed. Then, the bouncing began once again. And, thankfully, so did the screaming and crying.
Howwy 'feasted' upon the child. It was like a well-oiled machine; women and children went in, and brutalized corpses - as well as feces and urine from the terrified children - went out. Clearly, the product being produced by this machine was pleasure for Howwy. Suddenly, he realized that there was nothing left. Nothing at all.
Howwy grunted in disapproval. That woman and her five children hadn't even been able to serve as his breakfast. The gluttonous man hungered yet still. So, he screeched, "Next!" But, no one came.
"Next!! Next!!!" Howwy screeched. But, again, no one came. No women or children came into the room to be utilized by the man. Intolerable. Absolutely intolerable! How dare they make this great man seek them out himself! Howwy's expression went from one of confusion to one of pure, seething wrath; his anger was such that it was as if atomic bombs were detonating inside his skull. He would have his vengeance. Howwy slowly jiggled off the bed, and then began walking away. The man waddled towards the next house, which, to his knowledge, contained a few children and their mommy. He swore.
Howwy swore that would enact supreme vengeance upon these wretched sows for violating his fundamental rights as a man. This was the true extent of the hero's resolve.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 10 2018, @07:17PM (2 children)
You can see from figure 1 that the groups that weighed less (the food restricted ones) also ate less food. They say it is "similar" which doesnt mean anything, in actuality the lower weight (food restricted) groups ate ~80% the higher weight groups.
At a minimum, the study needs a scatter plot of food consumed vs final weight, with the points colored by treatment group. So why can't it be that they discovered that mice, with nothing to do all day but eat, will eat less when there is no food available for half the day.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday September 10 2018, @08:33PM
First world problem, and, really, it is a problem.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday September 11 2018, @01:49PM
Look up Dr. Jason Fung's work on fasting. (He's got some presentations on Youtube, for the impatient.) Same or even more calories, from the same sources, when consumed in a time-limited window leads to a higher metabolic rate. Which naturally leads to less body fat.
I'd noticed this in kennel dogs decades ago: dogs fed one meal per day need about 30% more calories to maintain the same body weight as the same dogs fed two meals per day (and in turn need more on two meals than if they nibble all day free-choice) -- under what are otherwise the exact same circumstances.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 10 2018, @09:49PM (3 children)
They eat about 30 hours a day.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 10 2018, @10:07PM (1 child)
So for every 24 hours they spend eating they shorten their life expectancy by 6?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 10 2018, @11:54PM
That AC believes Americans live on Venus or Mercury. The only other explanation would be pure insanity.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 11 2018, @12:35PM
Couldn't they get the mice to eat Americans?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 10 2018, @11:00PM (4 children)
So now we are finding something interesting in mice, and saying it must apply to humans? Really?
This is certainly a promising lead and suggestive of something to investigate, but only that. Case in point, being near cats dramatically shortens mouse life expectancy, but has substantially less impact to humans.
Biology is complicated, and whoever suggested that this could apply to humans is being horribly irresponsible.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 11 2018, @12:06AM (1 child)
> and whoever suggested that this could apply to humans is being horribly irresponsible.
I agree. Assuming that the suggestion came from someone in the research group, then, to continue this work they have to throw out a bone to the funding agency...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 11 2018, @12:37PM
That suggestion would work better on dogs than it would on humans.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by ElizabethGreene on Tuesday September 11 2018, @01:54PM (1 child)
The horrible irresponsibility is somewhat lessened when you combine it with decades of anecdotal evidence and limited studies that have already been done in humans. If anything this helps confirm those studies conclusions that grazing behavior isn't all sunshine and roses. More research is absolutely required to understand the underlying mechanisms. This study's value is that it confirms those underlying mechanisms exist in mouse models so you can do your testing there instead of on larger/more expensive mammals.
On a personal note, this is particularly interesting for those trying to lose weight following the advice to "eat 6 small meals a day". When I tried that I _put on_ kilos per week at 1700 kcal/day. That shouldn't be possible, but...
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday September 11 2018, @02:09PM
See my note above contrasting dogs fed one meal a day, with the same dogs fed two meals per day. 30% difference in caloric requirements to maintain the same condition.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday September 11 2018, @02:32AM (7 children)
I've been drifting in and out of Metabolic Syndrome for a couple years now. That's high cholesterol and high blood sugar. That presents me with a choice of heart attack or diabetes, with my reward for choosing diabetes being to have a choice between having both my feet amputated, total blindness or a _second_ shot at a heart attack.
I just about always make a sandwich shortly before bed.
I have a profoundly dysfunctional Circadian Rhythm. It was first discovered by the Maternity Ward nurses in the hospital where I was born. It's quite common for my wake/sleep schedule to rotate around the whole twenty-four hours in the space of a week or so.
That leads to me experiencing chronic jet lag.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by deimtee on Tuesday September 11 2018, @08:13AM
My circadian is not dysfunctional, it's just somewhere around 26 hours.
If I have no other time commitments, I cycle round the clock and have about 13 days per fortnight.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 11 2018, @10:20AM (1 child)
You forgot high blood pressure. They all go hand-in-hand. Basically, if you don't drop weight like Clinton did after heart attack (maybe go read his book about turning vegetarian), then your days are really short.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Wednesday September 12 2018, @08:41AM
That's because hypothyroidism is a primary cause of high blood pressure, via two different mechanisms: increased constriction of the peripheral blood vessels, and an upset in the blood calcium balance since HT causes calcium to be removed from the blood and deposited in soft tissues, notably joints and arterial walls (leading to 'hardening of the arteries'), and possibly pre-cancerous calcifications in other tissues.
Meanwhile, since if blood calcium drops too far your heart will quit, the parathyroid glands rob calcium from bones and teeth (leading to osteoporosis and adult-onset tooth decay) trying to make up the difference. This can eventually cause the PT glands to develop fibroid tumors (thyroid receptor tissue) which cause persistent hyperparathyroidism (this will not correct when thyroid is fixed; the PT tumors need to be surgically removed), and that will eventually kill you. Incidentally, a recent study found that 100% of hyperparathyroid patients tested had Hashimoto's antibodies, indicating prior thyroid disease. [In short, HPT appears to be end-stage Hashimoto's thyroiditis, not a separate disease.]
Thyroid affects *everything*, but with huge variability depending on your total genetic load (and to some extent, environment). Thus for any chronic or 'mystery' condition, it should always be the first line of investigation, followed by a parathyroid screening if treatment doesn't fully resolve symptoms. But for most doctors, it's a last resort.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 11 2018, @12:49PM
N24 sufferers unite! Lets meet at 11am, or 4pm, how about 9pm? 3am? 8am? Nevermind.
(Going GF helped with my N24. Didn't realize a gluten intolerance was giving me massive brain fog. Had thought that was part of the N24. Give it a try if you're still feel screwed up after a full 8 hours sleep. Still have the N24 but at least now I can accomplish things when I'm awake.)
(Score: 5, Informative) by Reziac on Tuesday September 11 2018, @02:04PM (2 children)
Get a *full* thyroid workup (NOT just a TSH test). "Metabolic syndrome" (high cholesterol, high blood sugar, along with persistent hunger/leptin resistance and inability to lose weight) and "permanent jet lag" are very typical for hypothyroidism. In fact, per a vast pile of data which has almost entirely failed to trickle down to medical practice, obesity's various co-morbidities (including type 2 diabetes) appear to be NOT caused by obesity, but rather are symptoms of hypothyroidism, of which obesity is just one symptom of many. A pathologist noted that "low T3 [thyroid] syndrome" was obviously present at autopsy in 50% of fatal cardiac incidents, but of course this will never be studied because you can't ethically induce a fatal condition. One shrink found 90% of his bipolar patients were instantly cured by treating them as hypothyroid and putting them on T3 (to prevent metabolic swings)... meaning that in fact they were not bipolar, but suffered from Hashimoto's thyroiditis. -- When hypothyroid symptoms are present at birth, it can be due to a pituitary defect.
Symptoms of thyroid deficiency can be as apparently-unrelated as adult tooth decay and some cancers. A non-exhaustive list:
http://www.sarahwilson.com/2014/07/300-typical-thyroid-symptoms-yep-that-many/ [sarahwilson.com]
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 11 2018, @07:44PM (1 child)
Yeah, every fat person I meet tells me they have a "thyroid issue", than proceeds to scarf down more food in one sitting than I do in a week.
Every fatso will self diagnose thyroid issue, too.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Reziac on Wednesday September 12 2018, @08:24AM
Actually, they're about half right. Hypothyroid persons often gain weight even without over-eating, but low thyroid makes you FAR more inclined to overeat. This is partly due to the brain being starved for energy (so you only feel satisfied, awake, and not depressed when you've just consumed a bunch of sugar), and partly due to leptin resistance (which makes you feel ravenously hungry ALL the time).
One problem I see over and over is that hypothyroidism seems to make the affected person more likely to avoid treatment, as if one critical symptom is that the condition is self-reinforcing. Might be because those who self-medicate with food become addicted to the 'rush' of feeling normal right after they eat (the only time their brains are not starving).
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by phantomlord on Tuesday September 11 2018, @02:57AM
A good starting point, is the The Aetiology of Obesity [youtube.com]. He has also authored a couple of books on the subject.