Meal Timing and Frequency May Impact Cardiovascular Health

You are what you eat, but maybe the timing is important too

Mom always did say that breakfast was the most important meal, and now science is finally catching up to her. This article looks at the timing of eating, how that has changed over the decades, and how—depending—it may be harmful to our cardiovascular health.

Our bodily functions run according to the circadian rhythm, which is like a clock inside the computer. This clock is partially set by the timing of our meals. This clock governs what systems need to be turned on or off—for example, production of acid in the stomach around mealtime. The pumps need to be turned on, which requires transcription of genes in order for the pumps to become active. Therefore, our mealtime affects the internal clock, which governs our biologic processes, and all biologic processes ultimately can be traced back to transcription and expression of genes. Basically, our eating affects our gene expression. Some of those genes control lipid metabolism, diabetes, and hypertension parameters; therefore, the timing of our eating may have an impact on our cardiometabolic state.

This paper summarizes all the studies evaluating the effects of skipping breakfast or having more frequent meals or eating late at night in order to determine how the timing of food intake can affect our cardiovascular health. The investigators found that breakfast “eaters” compared with breakfast “skippers” weigh less, have lower LDL, have higher HDL, have less diabetes, and less CV disease. One possible explanation is that if we skip breakfast, the body has to hold out until lunchtime before it can refuel. This lack of replenishment kicks the body into survival mode, which is associated with many undesirable features.

Although starving is not a good idea because it kicks us into survival mode, intermittent fasting is helpful. This leads to lower weight, less insulin resistance, and less diabetes. So, perhaps starvation all the time is not a good thing, but occasional fasting that does not push the body into survival mode is beneficial.

Late-night eating, on the other hand, is associated with increased obesity, which most likely reflects the increased storage of the excess fat because while we are sleeping we can’t burn the calories off. Therefore, eating earlier during the day allows those calories to be immediately burned off so they aren’t stored as fat tissue.

Overall, the authors concluded that the timing of our caloric intake is important and that further studies need to be done. But, for now, we should stick to scheduled eating and avoid starvation, which triggers the survival systems. We should we eat to earlier in the day when we are more likely to off the calories. Nighttime should be used as a fasting period; so, no eating late at night. In fact, we need to avoid snacks or stress eating because we typically eat more high-fat foods. And, above all, we need to avoid the hunger pains that will trigger the survival instincts.

Perhaps paying attention to the timing of our eating will help us feel better and live longer. Who would have guessed that how we eat affects how our genes are transcribed and expressed. We are the masters of our destiny…at least in terms of cardiovascular health.

Recent studies in animal models have shown that daily eating pattern—independent of nutrition quality and quantity—can have significant impact on metabolic homeostasis and cardiovascular disease risks. In this statement, St-Onge et al made a comprehensive review of epidemiological and clinical evidence linking various daily eating patterns with cardiovascular health markers. A critical factor in evaluating the effect of meal frequency and timing on health is what constitutes a meal that potentially impacts metabolism. The statement proposes that any meal or eating event may be defined as an eating/drinking episode providing ≥210 kJ (>50 kcal) that is separated from another eating event by at least 15 minutes. This review of the literature is focused on the impact of breakfast, various forms of fasting, number of daily meals, and timing of meals. In each of these areas, emerging knowledge and knowledge gaps are identified. Finally, key findings from reviewed literature are synthesized into actionable recommendations. Distributing calories over a defined period of the day and maintaining a consistent overnight fast period forms the foundation of this recommendation, upon which, additional layers are added to optimize nutrition quality, quantity, and timing. Eating a larger portion of the daily caloric intake in the earlier part of the day can have positive effects on cardiometabolic health. Introducing intermittent fasting approaches can reduce caloric intake and reduce body weight. Planning each meal with a variety of healthy food and timing these meals can help manage hunger, achieve portion control, and improve nutrition quality.

In summary, this statement with a new emphasis on meal timing offers a variety of options from a simple overnight fasting period to more sophisticated meal planning for reducing cardiovascular disease risks.