A new scientific review has shown that the success of intermittent fasting depends not only on the length of the fasting period, but is critically related to the timing of meals during the day.
Researchers from National Taiwan University, through a comprehensive analysis of global clinical trials, found that eating meals during the day, and especially finishing the last meal before 5 p.m., leads to greater improvements in weight, insulin levels, and other health indicators compared to adhering to the same regimen but eating later in the day.
Although time-restricted eating, in which food intake is confined to a specific time window each day, has proven effective in improving metabolic health compared to traditional systems, the study published in BMJ Medicine confirms that "early timing has a clear advantage over late timing."
According to the results, finishing eating between 5 and 7 pm is still better than the later window that starts after 9 am and ends after 7 pm.
This superiority is attributed to the alignment of meal timing with the body's daily biological rhythms, as the body is most prepared to process food and burn fat during daylight hours. Less effective results were primarily associated with combining late-night meals with longer eating periods.
Dr. Ling-Wei Chen, one of the lead researchers in the study, commented: "Time-restricted eating may be effective for many, but the timing of the food is a crucial factor. Rather than focusing solely on the duration of fasting, aligning food intake with the body's biological clock may be the key to maximizing metabolic benefit."
These results point to a new trend in dietary recommendations, where "when you eat" becomes just as important as "what you eat" and "how much you eat" in promoting health and preventing metabolic diseases.
