Could the time you eat your breakfast determine your health?
Yes, suggests new research that finds eating your morning meal before 8:30 a.m. may reduce your risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
People in the study who ate breakfast early had lower blood sugar levels and less insulin resistance than folks who ate a later breakfast. Insulin resistance occurs when your body becomes resistant to the effects of the hormone insulin, causing blood sugar levels to rise.
The new findings held regardless of whether people restricted their eating to less than 10 hours a day or spread it out over windows of more than 13 hours.
Such time-restricted feeding is a form of intermittent fasting, which is all the rage these days due to a laundry list of potential health benefits ranging from weight loss and lower risk for disease to longevity. People who practice time-restricted eating typically eat during an eight to 12-hour daytime window and fast during the remaining 12 to 16 hours.
However, the new study suggests it is not the duration of the window, but the timing of the meals that may matter most when it comes to diabetes risk.
