Eating only between 9am and 7pm ‘will make you happier, less hungry and more energetic’: Experts hail health benefits of fasting for 14 hours a day
According to a new study, fasting for 14 hours a day can make you feel less hungry, have more energy and improve your mood.
Results from a trial show that limiting your food consumption to a set 10-hour window, for example only eating between 9am and 7pm, can have positive health benefits.
Some proponents of intermittent fasting promote restrictive eating periods of just six hours, such as eating all your food between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
But a team of researchers from King’s College London found that less restrictive windows can still lead to positive changes in mood, energy and hunger.
Some proponents of intermittent fasting promote restrictive eating periods of just six hours, such as eating all your food between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The researchers used the ZOE app, which allows participants to register their health daily.
More than 37,000 people on the app completed the study, which asked them to eat normally for a week and then eat only during a 10-hour eating window for the next fourteen days.
They were also asked to log information about their mood, energy and hunger levels.
Analysis found that those who fasted 14 hours a day reported higher energy and mood and were less hungry.
Those who were consistent with their eating window had greater benefits than those who varied their eating window from day to day.
And almost all participants chose to continue the intervention for a few more weeks.
Dr. Sarah Berry, chief scientist at ZOE, said: ‘This is the largest study outside a tightly controlled clinic to show that intermittent fasting can improve your health in the real world.
‘What’s really exciting is that the findings show that you don’t have to be very restrictive to see positive results.
‘A ten-hour eating window, which was manageable for most people, improved mood, energy levels and hunger.
‘We discovered for the first time that those who practiced time restriction, but were not consistent every day, did not have the same positive health effects as those who committed to it every day. ‘
Kate Bermingham, who also worked on the research, added: ‘This study adds to the growing body of evidence showing the importance of the way you eat.
‘The health impact of food is not just what you eat, but also the time of day you choose to consume your meals, and the eating window is an important dietary behavior that can be beneficial to health.
‘The findings show that we do not need to eat all the time. Many people will feel full and even lose weight if they limit their eating to a ten-hour window.”
The abstract was presented at the European Nutrition Conference in Belgrade, Serbia.
Recent findings, including from the ZOE app, suggest that snacking after 9 p.m. may be worse for your health.
More than 800 people in Britain were asked to record every snack they ate over two to four days. Then their blood sugar levels, linked to the risk of type 2 diabetes, and their blood fat levels, linked to the risk of heart attacks and strokes, were analyzed.
People who reported snacking after 9 p.m. scored worse than those who didn’t snack at all after this time.
WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?
Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, preferably whole grains, according to the NHS
• Eat at least 5 portions of varied fruit and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruits and vegetables count
• Basic meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, preferably whole wheat
• 30 grams of fiber per day: This is the same as eating all of the following: 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, 2 whole wheat cereal biscuits, 2 thick slices of whole wheat bread and a large baked potato with the skin still on
• Provide some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soy drinks), opting for lower fat and lower sugar options
• Eat some beans, legumes, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 portions of fish per week, one portion of which is fatty)
• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consume them in small quantities
• Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water per day
• Adults should have less than 6 g of salt and 20 g of saturated fat for women or 30 g for men per day
Source: NHS Eatwell guide