The health advantages of a time-restricted diet or intermittent fasting have been proven in several studies, such as longevity. Due to that, this kind of diet has become popular in the wellness business but it remains unclear how it impacts an organism at the molecular level until the findings of this new study from the Salk Institute.

According to SciTech Daily, researchers demonstrated how a time-restricted diet affects gene expression in mice, especially in more than 22 different areas of the body and brain. The findings have implications for a wide range of health disorders, including diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and cancer, where time-restricted eating has shown potential advantages.

Time-restricted Diet Influences Gene Expression With Potential Benefits in a Wide Range of Health Conditions
(Photo : Pixabay/stokpic)
Time-restricted Diet Influences Gene Expression With Potential Benefits in a Wide Range of Health Conditions

Time-restricted Diet Benefits Overall Health

The study, titled "Diurnal Transcriptome Landscape of a Multi-tissue Response To Time-restricted Feeding in Mammals" published in Cell Metabolism on January 3, 2023, has implications for a wide range of health disorders, such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and cancer.

Professor Satchidananda Panda, the senior author of the study, said that a time-restricted diet has a system-wide biochemical impact on mice that could pave the way for further investigation into how it could activate genes linked to certain diseases.

They tested two groups of mice who were fed the same high-calorie diet, but only one was allowed free food access while the other group was only allowed to eat during a nine-hour period every day. The experiment lasted for seven weeks, wherein the team collected tissue samples from 22 organ groups and the brain at various times of the day and night to test for genetic alterations.

Those organs include the stomach, lungs, heart, adrenal gland, hypothalamus, and specific regions of the kidney, intestine, and brain. They found that 70% of mouse genes responded to intermittent fasting. Panda said that they were able to change the gene expression in the gut or liver, as well as in the brain by changing the timing of the food.

Time-restricted feeding altered over 40% of genes in the adrenal gland, brain, and pancreas. These organs play a crucial role in hormone control, which is linked to a variety of ailments ranging from diabetes to stress disorders. The findings suggest that time-restricted eating may aid in the management of certain disorders.

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Link Between Time-Restricted Diet and Circadian Rhythm

But not all parts of the digestive tract were similarly affected since the duodenum and jejunum, the ileum did not. As per Science Daily, the discovery might pave the way for further research into how shiftwork occupations, which disturb the circadian rhythm, affect digestive illnesses and tumors.

Panda's previous research found that time-restricted eating benefited the health of firemen, who frequently work shifts. Moreover, the researchers discovered that a time-restricted diet synchronized the circadian cycles of several organs in the body. Panda explains that the circadian rhythm is present in every cell, which allows the body to coordinate diverse functions.

Panda's team will then examine the impact of time-restricted eating on particular illnesses or systems included in the study, such as atherosclerosis, a hardening of the arteries that is frequently a precursor to heart disease and stroke, as well as chronic kidney disease.

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