Here's a tiny piece of good news: if you're one of those who can't tolerate eating all greens day in, day out, and prefer to add some sweets or bad fat into the diet, you may be better off eating them within the next 8 to 12 hours and before night time. Based on a recent study, the chances of gaining weight will be significantly lesser.
In a brand-new study that's just been released in Cell Metabolism, Salk Institute researchers prove that when it comes to health, time still remains of the essence.
The metabolic study was actually conducted on mice. About two years ago, the researchers including Dr. Satchidananda Panda let the mice eat a diet that is high in fat. However, some of the mice had to do so at a certain time frame of the day while the others had access to it 24 hours a day.
Upon comparing their weight and health, the researchers discovered that mice that ate a high-fat diet but only in a restricted period appeared leaner and healthier than the other group.
The team then performed another study, this time determining whether eating on a specific time frame can help in weight loss. More than 350 mice of different sizes (from normal to obese) ate different types of diet. Similar to the first study, even if mice consumed a diet that's high in fat and sugar, they still gained fewer pounds after consuming their food up to 12 hours than the mice that got to eat up to 15 hours a day. This is even after both of these groups consumed the same amount of food.
Meanwhile, those who ate a high-fat diet only at the specified time frame (from 9 to 12 hours) became lean than their counterpart.
Although the study may have been conducted on mice, the researchers are confident that the same conclusion can still be given to humans. Simply put, if you want to lose the weight or avoid adding pounds and increase the risk of obesity and a host of other diseases, skip snacking at night.