People who start eating before 8:30 a.m. or their breakfast in the morning have onelower blood sugar levelsand lower insulin resistance. This is according to a new study that scientists recently presented at a virtual endocrinology conference. In addition, such a diet could significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This applies regardless of whether food intake is limited to less than 10 hours per day or spread over more than 13 hours per day.
Intermittent fasting and breakfast in the morning to combat diabetes
Insulin resistance occurs when the body does not respond well to the insulin that theproduced by the pancreas. This makes it more difficult for glucose to enter cells. Additionally, people with insulin resistance may be at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Both insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels affect a person's metabolism. This represents the breakdown of food into its simpler components: proteins, carbohydrates (or sugars), and fats. Metabolic disorders such as diabetes can therefore occur when these normal processes are disrupted. With the increase in metabolic disorders such as diabetes, the study authors wanted to expand their understanding of nutritional strategies to address this growing problem. Previous studies have shown that time-restricted eating, which consolidates meals into a shortened time frame per day, has consistently shown improvements in metabolic health. Therefore, the research group wanted to know whether eating breakfast early in the morning could improve metabolic measures.
Researchers analyzed data from 10,575 adults who completed a survey. They divided the participants into three groups depending on the total duration of food intake: less than 10 hours, 10-13 hours and more than 13 hours per day. The researchers then created six subgroups based on the start time of the eating duration (before or after 8:30 a.m.). The analysis should show whether the duration and timing of eating are related to fasting blood glucose and estimated insulin resistance. The former did not differ significantly from the groups that did intermittent fasting. Insulin resistance was higher with shorter eating intervals but lower in all groups with a meal start time before 8:30 a.m.These study resultssuggest that timing is more closely linked to metabolic measures than duration, thereby supporting early eating strategies, according to the study authors.