A Resolution You Need: Eat breakfast before 8 am, dinner before 8 pm. Here's why

You must have heard, “You are what you eat,” since that’s how our meal generates the energy to function. But meal timing is as crucial as what you eat. According to a study published in Journal Nature Communications, skipping the first meal of the day or eating a late breakfast or dinner is associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Let’s take a closer look. How do irregular meal schedules affect health? According to the Global Burden of Disease study, cardiovascular illnesses account for the majority of deaths worldwide (18.6 million deaths annually in 2019), with diet having a major role in around 7.9 of these deaths. Thus, diet has a significant impact on how many diseases arise and progress. According to the latest study by the French research institute, the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (NRAE), having a first meal after 9 am is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, with a six per cent increase in risk per hour delay. [caption id=“attachment_13572292” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Diet has a significant impact on how many diseases arise and progress. Pexels[/caption] Compared to dining before 8 pm, eating late (after 9 pm) at the last meal of the day is linked to a 28 per cent increased risk of cerebrovascular disease, including stroke, especially in women. The notion of having one’s first and last meals earlier in the day is further supported by the finding that a longer period of night-time fasting, or the interval between one’s last meal of the day and their first meal the next, is linked to a lower risk of cerebrovascular disease. For the study, researchers analysed data from 103,389 participants who participated in the NutriNet-Sante study, with a median age of 42. The results suggest that meal timing may have a role in reducing cardiovascular disease, but more research with other designs and in different cohorts is required to confirm these findings. The group suggests that a longer duration of fasting at night and an earlier time for first and final meals may help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. What time you eat matters Circadian rhythms, which are “cyclic endogenous (built-in) biological patterns that follow a 24-hour cycle that regulates the timing of physiology, metabolism, and behaviour,” are closely linked to meal times, according to the Economic Times. The core of a circadian rhythm diet is the timing of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It all starts with the sun, which sets off our circadian cycle. You may gain weight if your meal schedule is not in line with your body’s circadian rhythm. This is because fat-storing hormones may become more abundant. Thus, mealtimes shouldn’t be postponed and should be considered concerning our overall health. It is recommended by experts to have your first meal of the day by 8 am and your last meal of the day by 8 pm. This schedule predicts that we will fast during the night, have our last meal at dusk, and then eat during the day when the sun is out. With inputs from agencies