Restricted Period Eating: Yea or Nay?

#1

Focusing here on confining eating to a window of 6-8-10? hours on a daily basis. Not focusing on longer fasting.

Interest is: is restricted period eating good for you? not interested in possible effects on weight control, but only upon CV and metabolic health.

So much published about this, but no concensus.

Research shows that fasting at least 13 hours daily (overnight and into the next day) reduces risk of breast cancer recurrence.

Research shows that after about 16 hours of fasting the cells begin autophagy. This process scavenges things like bent or misfolded proteins (that could be harmful) and breaks them down and re-uses them to make new things that the cell needs but cannot build in the absence of new nutrition coming in. This “house cleaning” is generally beneficial, but is a mild stressor. Also, while it could prevent new cancers from starting it might actually benefit existing cancer tumor cells.

Peter Attia used to do long fasts but he has abandoned this practice. Now he is about ingesting enough protein, and starting early in the day. He said that as soon as you wake up you need to get some protein in. If you don’t you start catabolizing.

Andrew Huberman says: follow circadian rhythms: no eating several hours before bed, / after dark. No eating upon waking, but eat breakfast an hour after you wake.

Jason Fung likes restricted period eating for its cancer-protective and metabolic benefits. Several studies hint that time restricted eating may have anti-aging and anticancer benefits.

Others-- concerns about fasting generally in older people because of the high priority of maintaining muscle mass and strength. (I am 74)

Others (eg. Tom DeLauer) says --good to do it some of the time but not every day. If you do it every day you will cause your body to start reducing metabolism rate.

So, I have come to the practice of definitely not eating after 7 or 8 PM, but having a small protein breakfast an hour or two after waking, on most days. On the two days a week that I swim early, I break-fast around noon, so I am basically doing restricted period eating two days per week.

Everything is a tradeoff: on the one hand: lots of protein, strength, muscle, reduced sarcopenia, reduced fall risk, etc, but higher metabolism, higher levels of ROS (oxidative stress);on the other hand, lower metabolism, lower cellular activity, higher autophagy and potentially lower cancer, but also less muscle, strength, overall robustness? How to balance?

What is your view about all this, and what is your practice? and correct me please if I am wrong or have misstated anything in the above.

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#2

There is a hypothesis that many cancers are metabolic in origin.

Fixing the metabolism hence is a good idea

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#3

This is exactly my eating routine. I’m aiming for a Autophagy vs sarcopenia balance. But mainly I’m just doing what comes naturally and optimizes sleep.

#4

I’m for lower everything (The slower you go the farther you will be - ancient wisdom).

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#5

In think a reasonable hypothesis is that the potential increase in autophagy might also help against neurodegenerative disease

Toward the end of longer intra 24 hour fast your body has moved more from glucose driven energy utilization towards utilization of fat as energy source. Training you body to be able to use both and go back and forth between is something that has always felt intuitively to make sense to me.

One way to perhaps gain more than one loses from the fasting is to up resistance training - do you feel you do enough of that?

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#6

Just said this to not get confused with multi day, fuel switching can happen way before 24 hours and often before the autophagy I think (you can probably increase it my eating the carbs/move more towards healthy fats the afternoon/evening before your swim/intermittent fasting days.

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#7

I wouldn’t follow Attia on the issue of time restricted eating, or diet. Huberman lost some credibility with me (on food issues) when he let it slip that his ApoB was high so I wouldn’t go with his opinion on diet either. Prof. Sachin Panda is one good source on TRE as he researches and publishes on issues pertaining to TRE. If you can make your way around PubMed (or Google Scholar) you can find more from actual researchers. As for general diet quality, Profs. Gary Fraser and Walter Willet are two credible long-time researchers in this area. I’ve been doing TRE roughly 16/8 for over 10 years. I do not feel hungry in the morning so eat from around 11a to 5 or 6p. BTW, I think the research shows physical activity as being the primary way to maintain muscle mass and strength as we age.

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#8

Whatever people’s views on inputs (diets /supplements/other inputs), physical activity is crucial although there are limits in terms of ensurance training.

#9

Thank you for the pointers!

#10

a little “restricted eating” humor… and why it can be hard (to lose weight, if that is your goal).

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#11

from what i’ve read, a restricted eating period is beneficial only in that you’re eating less on average. and that you’re not eating within 3 hours of sleeping and therefore WRECKING your sleep.

what i try to do is 1) never ever snack - eat a meal early if you’re hungry but do not snack. 2) never eat within 3 hours of bedtime. 3) eat as close to zero unsat fats as possible. sat fat is great tho - it keeps you feeling full. nothin wrong with carbs, just don’t overdo it. get enough protein - it also keeps you feeling full.

and instead of fasting, take rapamycin. it is THE signal that tells every part of your body “we are fasting right now so go completely catabolic”. especially as you age, that signal happens less and less. Most people never experience it in their life and we used to all the time - that can’t possibly be a good thing.

#12

It definitely good for your teeth giving them time to remineralise

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#13

I’ve been eating in a 5 hour window for a couple of years. 11:00 AM-4:00 PM. It is a great system for me. I began doing it because it made sense to me for health. However, I did lose quite a bit of weight and leveled off at basically the weight I was in high school. I’m 75 now. I have more energy than prior to intermittent fasting. And some better blood test numbers. My cardiologist said that I have stopped and reversed atherosclerosis. Been taking rapa for 3 months or so. I wonder if intermittent fasting is necessary given that the body on rapa mimics fasting? I keep on doing it because it’s now “normal” to me. I sure don’t miss breakfast. That most important meal of the day viewpoint is not my experience at all. More like the most unnecessary Meal of the day! Probably made up by the cereal companies.