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Huberman Lab
Dr. Satchin Panda: Intermittent Fasting to Improve Health, Cognition & Longevity
Mar 13, 2023
02:44:04
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Quick takeaways
- Time-restricted eating (TRE) or intermittent fasting can positively impact metabolic health, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular health, age-related chronic diseases, and mood and cognitive performance.
- The optimal length of the feeding window for time-restricted feeding is still debated, but a practical and feasible approach for many individuals is limiting eating to an 8 to 12 hour window.
- Feeding within a specific time window, even with controlled caloric intake, can improve lifespan and impact longevity.
- Cautions for time-restricted feeding include avoiding extremely short eating windows (4 to 6 hours) or one meal a day, and ensuring adequate calorie intake for physically active individuals, nutritional quality, and calorie sufficiency for women to avoid negative impacts on menstrual health, bone health, and mental well-being.
- Implementing time-restricted feeding (TRF) among shift workers, such as firefighters, is feasible and can lead to improvements in blood pressure, blood glucose management, blood lipids, and cardiovascular health.
- Aligning meal patterns with our circadian rhythm can have profound effects on health, metabolism, blood sugar control, fat oxidation, and overall well-being.
Deep dives
Time-restricted feeding and its impact on circadian rhythms
Dr. Sachin Panda's laboratory has made important contributions to understanding circadian rhythms and their impact on mental and physical health. These rhythms regulate various aspects of the body, such as gene expression, mood, sleep, and metabolism. One key finding is that restricting feeding to specific periods within a 24-hour cycle can have significant effects on liver, gut, and brain health, as well as on mood and cognitive performance. This discussion explores the impact of circadian behaviors - including sleep, light exposure, eating patterns, and socializing - on overall health and how time-restricted feeding can positively influence these rhythms and their associated health outcomes.
Intermittent fasting and time-restricted feeding
Dr. Sachin Panda's laboratory is known for its research on intermittent fasting and time-restricted feeding. Intermittent fasting involves reducing calorie intake for one or more days in a week, while time-restricted feeding limits food consumption to a specific window within a 24-hour cycle. Studies have shown that both approaches can have positive impacts on health, including weight management and improvements in various biomarkers. However, the optimal length of the feeding window is still an area of debate and may depend on individual factors. While shorter feeding windows, such as 4 to 6 hours, have been studied, a more practical and feasible approach for many individuals may be limiting eating to an 8 to 12 hour window.
The role of calorie restriction and timing in longevity
Calorie restriction has long been associated with increased lifespan. However, recent studies have started to investigate the role of timing and meal distribution within a restricted calorie diet. Research in mice has shown that feeding within a specific time window, such as 8 to 12 hours, can lead to significant improvements in lifespan compared to ad libitum feeding. Interestingly, studies have also demonstrated that even when total caloric intake is controlled, the timing of feeding can impact longevity. Furthermore, research in humans has shown that time-restricted feeding, when combined with healthy nutrition choices, can lead to weight loss and improvements in various health markers.
Considerations and cautions for time-restricted feeding
While time-restricted feeding has shown promise as a strategy for weight management and health improvement, certain cautions and considerations should be kept in mind. The duration of the feeding window, such as 8 to 12 hours, seems to be a practical and beneficial approach for many individuals. Extremely short eating windows, such as 4 to 6 hours or one meal a day, may lead to inadequate calorie intake and potential health risks, especially for physically active individuals. Furthermore, individuals, particularly women, engaging in time-restricted feeding should be mindful of their overall nutrition quality and calorie sufficiency to avoid any negative impacts on menstrual health, bone health, and mental well-being. Further research is needed to better understand the long-term effects and individual variability in response to different time-restricted feeding protocols.
Feasibility of Time-Restricted Feeding for Shift Workers
A study was conducted to assess the feasibility of implementing time-restricted feeding (TRF) among shift workers, specifically firefighters. Shift workers, who make up a significant portion of the working population, face unique challenges in maintaining a healthy lifestyle due to their disrupted schedules. The study aimed to determine if firefighters could adhere to a 10-hour eating window while on shift and at home. The participants were assigned to follow a Mediterranean diet and were instructed to choose their own consistent 10-hour eating window. The findings revealed that most firefighters were able to adhere to TRF for five out of seven days, demonstrating the feasibility of implementing this dietary approach. The study also observed improvements in blood pressure and blood glucose management among those with pre-existing conditions. These promising results suggest that TRF could benefit the health of shift workers, allowing them to mitigate the negative health impacts associated with their demanding lifestyles.
Impact of TRF on Blood Lipids and Particle Size
Additionally, the study found that participants who adhered to TRF experienced positive changes in their blood lipids. Specifically, there was a significant improvement in the size and number of very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles, which are linked to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease risk. By managing VLDL particles more effectively, TRF may help reduce the risk of atherosclerosis among shift workers and improve their overall cardiovascular health.
Benefits of TRF for Blood Pressure Management
Among participants with pre-existing high blood pressure, TRF demonstrated notable benefits in blood pressure management. The study observed significant reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, comparable to the effects of antihypertensive medications. This finding suggests that TRF has the potential to lower blood pressure and improve cardiovascular health among shift workers, who are at a higher risk for hypertension.
Improved Blood Sugar Regulation with TRF
For individuals with high blood sugar levels, TRF also showed promise in managing blood glucose levels. Although the study did not include many participants with type 2 diabetes, those with pre-diabetic conditions experienced better control over their blood sugar when adhering to TRF. This indicates that TRF may support better blood sugar regulation among shift workers, potentially reducing the risk of developing diabetes or managing existing conditions more effectively.
Importance of Sleep and Meal Schedule for Shift Workers
Shift workers, such as firefighters, face unique challenges in maintaining a healthy sleep and meal schedule. Research has shown that firefighters, who work 24-hour shifts, have the opportunity to sleep during their time at the fire station. This differs from other shift workers, like nurses, who must stay awake throughout the night. Firefighters prioritize sleep whenever possible, which helps regulate their sleep-wake cycle and reduces the impact of sleep disruptions. Additionally, maintaining a regular meal schedule, even in unconventional hours, can have significant benefits for blood sugar regulation and overall health. These findings highlight the importance of sleep and meal consistency for shift workers and emphasize the need for tailored approaches to address the specific needs of different professions.
Impact of Circadian Rhythm on Meal Timing and Nutrition
Our bodies have a natural circadian rhythm, which influences our sleep-wake cycle and meal patterns. Research has shown that timing our meals according to our internal clocks can have profound effects on our health. Studies have indicated that the timing of meals, particularly aligning feeding with daytime and fasting during sleep, is crucial for regulating various metabolic processes, including blood sugar control, fat oxidation, and overall metabolism. Moreover, following a consistent meal schedule can help improve the quality and quantity of nutrition consumed, leading to better overall health outcomes. Understanding and aligning our eating patterns with our circadian rhythm can have significant positive impacts on our well-being.
Exploring the Benefits of Fasting and Time-Restricted Feeding
Fasting and time-restricted feeding have gained attention as potential strategies for improving health and longevity. Research has shown that fasting, whether through complete or partial fasting, can have numerous benefits, including improved metabolism, enhanced brain health, and even potential positive impacts on mental health. Time-restricted feeding, which involves limiting the daily eating window to a specific period, has demonstrated similar benefits. It can help regulate blood glucose levels, enhance fat oxidation, and contribute to maintaining a healthy weight. While more research is needed to fully understand the long-term effects and potential risks of these dietary approaches, preliminary evidence suggests that they have promising applications for optimizing health and well-being.
12.
Athletic Greens - A Vitamin Mineral Probiotic Drink That Covers All Your Foundational Nutritional Needs
2min
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You're an Amazing Scientist, Satya. Thank You for the Podcast and for Sharing the Science That You're Doing in Your Lab.
5min
In this episode, my guest is Satchin Panda, PhD, professor and the director of the Regulatory Biology Laboratories at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. We discuss his lab’s discovery that “time-restricted eating” (TRE) aka intermittent fasting, is beneficial effects for metabolic health and longevity. Dr. Panda explains how TRE, and also longer fasts, can positively impact obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular health, age-related chronic diseases, and improve mood and cognitive performance. He also describes how the timing of eating, light exposure and exercise that ~50% of all people engage in, negatively impacts their health and explains how specific simple adjustments to these can positively shift their subjective feelings of health and biomarkers of cardiovascular function, glucose regulation and metabolism. We discuss how our circadian behaviors, which include our patterns of eating, sleeping and socializing, have an enormous impact on our biology, mood and health and how by simply confining our calorie consumption to a semi-regular daily window, can positively impact our physical health, mental health and longevity.
For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
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Timestamps
(00:00:00) Dr. Satchin Panda
(00:03:18) Sponsor: LMNT
(00:07:24) Time-Restricted Eating (TRE), Calorie Restriction (CR) & Health
(00:14:38) Mealtimes & Circadian Clock
(00:21:34) Circadian Rhythm, Meal Anticipation, Digestion
(00:25:28) Breaking a Fast, Burning Fat
(00:28:45) Sponsor: AG1
(00:34:04) CR, Time Restricted Eating, Circadian Rhythm & Longevity
(00:47:20) Gender, Hormones & CR; Relative Energy Deficient in Sports (REDS)
(00:52:40) Physical Activity, Nutrition & Feeding Window
(00:59:04) Nutrition Timing, Quality & Quantity; Low- Carbohydrate Diet
(01:03:00) Caffeine, Nighttime Socialization, Fire, Breakfast
(01:16:20) Circadian Rhythm, “Night Owls” & Genetics
(01:26:37) Morning vs. Nighttime Discussions, “Me Time”
(01:30:08) Light Sensitivity & “Night Owls”; Puberty, Melatonin
(01:36:05) Shift Workers, Health & Disease
(01:45:43) Artificial Lights, Young Adults & Sleep, Metabolic Dysfunction
(01:50:59) Firefighters, Sleep & TRE; Cardiovascular Health, Blood Glucose
(02:05:18) Shift Workers & Sleep; Alcohol & Caffeine
(02:09:15) 12- Hour Feeding Window for Adults & Children, Sleep
(02:22:10) Meal Timing
(02:25:20) “Complete Fast”, Longer Fasts, Physical Health & Mental Health
(02:28:12) “Fat Fasting”, Blood Glucose & Insulin
(02:31:57) Fasting, Metformin, Rapamycin & Longevity; Human Applicability?
(02:39:14) Circadian Rhythm & Metabolism
(02:41:36) Ontime Health App, Circadian Clock App
(02:46:17) Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, YouTube Feedback, Sponsors, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter
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