New findings on the best meal times to prevent diabetes

The traditional approach to fat loss and blood sugar control is a calorie-restricted diet.

However, the reality is that this method is very difficult to maintain. Now, new research just published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine , has found an effective way to control blood sugar and lose fat without difficult dieting.

Accordingly, scientists have found the best meal times to reduce belly fat and prevent blood sugar spikes, helping to reduce the risk of diabetes, according to the science news site ScitechDaily.

Results showed that the early fasting group - meaning eating between 9 and 17 hours - had significantly improved fasting blood sugar and overnight blood sugar levels compared with the other groups.

The study, led by scientists at the University of Granada, the Public University of Navarra and the CIBER Biomedical Research Centre (Spain), investigated whether meal timing had an impact on weight loss, belly fat loss or overall cardiovascular health in overweight or obese people.

The research is part of the doctoral dissertation of Manuel Dote-Montero, currently a postdoctoral fellow at the prestigious National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) in the US.

A total of 197 people aged 30–60 participated in the 12-week study.

Participants were divided into four groups:

• Normal eating: Normally, in Spain, people eat breakfast at 7-8am and dinner at 9-10pm, so their eating window is 12-14 hours. In this intermittent fasting experiment, the eating window is reduced from 12-14 hours to 6-8 hours and the fasting period is 16-18 hours.
• Early fasting: Meal time from 9am-5pm.
• Late fasting: Eating time frame from 2-10pm.
• Fasting by choice: Eating hours range from 12-20 hours.

All participants also received nutrition education about the Mediterranean diet and healthy lifestyle.

Eating between 9am and 5pm helps control diabetes effectively and improve blood sugar.

Finishing your last meal of the day at 5 p.m. gives your body more time to digest and process nutrients, regulates blood sugar better, and thus reduces the risk of blood sugar problems.

The results found that intermittent fasting - meaning eating within an 8-hour window, regardless of when you eat - resulted in more weight loss, an average of 3-4 kg, compared to normal fasting - meaning eating within a window of at least 12 hours. In particular, finishing dinner before 5 pm was a safer and more effective way to reduce belly fat.

Notably, the results showed that the early fasting group – meaning eating between 9 and 17 hours – had significantly improved fasting blood sugar and overnight blood sugar levels compared to the other groups.

These findings suggest that the 9-17 hour eating window may be particularly beneficial in optimizing blood sugar regulation, which may help prevent diabetes and improve metabolic health, according to ScitechDaily.

Researchers explain: The reason this meal time frame is most effective is because finishing the last meal of the day at 5 p.m. gives the body more time to digest and process nutrients, regulate blood sugar better, thereby reducing the risk of blood sugar problems and other metabolic disorders.

Researchers concluded: Intermittent fasting, especially eating within the 9-17 hour window, promotes weight loss and improves heart health by reducing belly fat and regulating blood sugar levels. This safe method may be effective in controlling obesity.

Overweight and obesity are closely linked to metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and certain cancers.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/phat-hien-moi-ve-khung-gio-an-tot-nhat-de-phong-tranh-benh-tieu-duong-185250119183203262.htm