{"id":10488,"date":"2024-08-22T02:07:19","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T19:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=10488"},"modified":"2024-08-22T02:07:19","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T19:07:19","slug":"irregular-meals-night-shifts-and-metabolic-harms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=10488","title":{"rendered":"Irregular Meals, Night Shifts, and Metabolic Harms\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>What can shift workers do to moderate the adverse effects of circadian rhythm disruption?<\/p>\n<p>Shift workers may <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/28245504\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have<\/a> higher rates of death from heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, and cardiovascular disease, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/26498240\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">higher<\/a> rates of death from cancer. Graveyard shift, indeed! But, is it just because they\u2019re eating out of vending machines or not getting enough sleep? Highly controlled studies have recently attempted to <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/29673860\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tease<\/a> out these other factors by putting people on the same diets with the same sleep\u2014but at the wrong time of day. Redistributing eating to the nighttime <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/7701285\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">resulted<\/a> in elevated cholesterol and <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/28347188\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">increases<\/a> in blood pressure and inflammation. No wonder shift workers are at higher risk. Shifting meals to the night in a simulated night-shift protocol effectively <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/19255424\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">turned<\/a> about one-third of the subjects prediabetic in just ten days. Our bodies just weren\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/25404320\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">designed<\/a> to handle food at night, as I discuss in my video <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/the-metabolic-harms-of-night-shifts-and-irregular-meals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Metabolic Harms of Night Shifts and Irregular Meals.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Just as <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/25404320\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">avoiding<\/a> bright light at night can prevent circadian misalignment, so can avoiding night eating. We may have no control over the lighting at our workplace, but we can try to<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/28635334\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> minimize<\/a> overnight food intake, which has been shown to help limit the negative metabolic consequences of shift work. When we finally do get home in the morning, though, we may disproportionately <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/25699635\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">crave<\/a> unhealthy foods. In one experiment, 81 percent of participants in a night-shift scenario chose high-fat foods, such as croissants, out of a breakfast buffet, compared to just 43 percent of the same subjects during a control period on a normal schedule.<\/p>\n<p>Shiftwork may also <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/20640236\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">leave<\/a> people too fatigued to exercise. But, even at the same physical activity levels, chronodisruption can <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/25404342\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">affect<\/a> energy expenditure. Researchers found that we burn 12 to 16 percent fewer calories while sleeping during the daytime compared to nighttime. Just a single improperly-timed snack can <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/23174861\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">affect<\/a> how much fat we burn every day. Study subjects eating a specified snack at 10:00 am burned about 6 more grams of fat from their body than on the days they ate the same snack at 11:00 pm. That\u2019s only about a pat and a half of butter\u2019s worth of fat, but it was the identical snack, just given at a different time. The late snack group also suffered about a 9 percent bump in their LDL cholesterol within just two weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Even just sleeping in on the weekends may mess up our metabolism. \u201cSocial jetlag <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/25601363\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">is<\/a> a measure of the discrepancy in sleep timing between our work days and free days.\u201d From a circadian rhythm standpoint, if we <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/22578422\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">go<\/a> to bed late and sleep in on the weekends, it\u2019s as if we flew a few time zones west on Friday evening, then flew back Monday morning. Travel-induced jet lag goes away in a few days, but what might the consequences be of constantly shifting our sleep schedule every week over our entire working career? Interventional studies have yet put it to the test, but population studies<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/28743872\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> suggest<\/a> that those who have at least an hour of social jet lag a week (which may describe more than two-thirds of people) have twice the odds of being overweight.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If sleep regularity is important, what about meal regularity? \u201cThe importance of <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27327128\/\">eating<\/a> regularly was highlighted early by Hippocrates (460\u2013377 BC) and later by Florence Nightingale,\u201d but it wasn\u2019t put to the test until the 21st century. A few population studies had suggested that those eating meals irregularly were at a metabolic disadvantage, but the first interventional studies weren\u2019t published until 2004. Subjects were <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/15220950\/\">randomized<\/a> to eat their regular diets divided into six regular eating occasions a day or three to nine daily occasions in an irregular manner. Researchers found that an irregular eating pattern can cause a drop in insulin sensitivity and a rise in cholesterol levels, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/15085170\/\">reduce<\/a> the calorie burn immediately after meals in both lean and obese individuals. The study participants <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/15640455\/\">ended up<\/a> eating more, though, on the irregular meals, so it\u2019s difficult to disentangle the circadian effects. The fact that overweight individuals may overeat on an irregular pattern may be telling in and of itself, but it would be nice to see such a study repeated using identical diets to see if irregularity itself has metabolic effects.<\/p>\n<p>Just such a study was <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27305952\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">published<\/a> in 2016: During two periods, people were randomized to eat identical foods in a regular or irregular meal pattern. As you can see in the graph below and at 4:47 in my <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27305952\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video<\/a><\/strong>, during the irregular period, people <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27305952\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">had<\/a> impaired glucose tolerance, meaning higher blood sugar responses to the same food.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-105229\" src=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-47.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-47.png 1920w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-47-960x540.png 960w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-47-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-47-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-47-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-47-480x270.png 480w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-47-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-47-720x405.png 720w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-47-540x304.png 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>They also had lower diet-induced thermogenesis, meaning the burning of fewer calories to process each meal, as seen in the graph below and at 4:55 in my <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27305952\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-105231\" src=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-55.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-55.png 1920w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-55-960x540.png 960w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-55-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-55-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-55-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-55-480x270.png 480w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-55-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-55-720x405.png 720w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/05\/4-55-540x304.png 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The difference in thermogenesis only <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27305952\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">came<\/a> out to be about ten calories per meal, though, and there was no difference in weight changes over the two-week periods. However, diet-induced thermogenesis can <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27305952\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">act<\/a> as \u201ca satiety signal.\u201d The extra work put into processing a meal can help slake one\u2019s appetite. And, indeed, \u201clower hunger and higher fullness ratings\u201d during the regular meal period could potentially <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27305952\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">translate<\/a> into better weight control over the long term.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The series on chronobiology is winding down with just two videos left in this series: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/shedding-light-on-shedding-weight\/?queryID=a3e061dc2191c3952e181c1bb8dc8058\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Shedding Light on Shedding Weight<\/a><\/strong> and <a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/friday-favorites-why-people-gain-weight-in-the-fall\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Friday Favorites: Why People Gain Weight in the Fall<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you missed any of the other videos, see the related posts below.\u00a0<br \/>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"et_social_bottom_trigger\"\/>  <\/div>\n<p><script>\n            !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n            {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n                n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n            if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n            n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n            t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n            s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n                'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n            fbq('init', '1582627921973608');\n            fbq('track', 'PageView');\n        <\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1675549\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What can shift workers do to moderate the adverse effects of circadian rhythm disruption? Shift workers may have higher rates of death from heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, and cardiovascular disease, as well as higher rates of death from cancer. Graveyard shift, indeed! But, is it just because they\u2019re eating out of vending machines or &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}