Research suggests that when you eat might have an impact on your overall health, particularly your brain function. A study presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting found that limiting food intake to a specific schedule might help keep your mind sharp as you age.
Time-Restricted Eating
The researchers enrolled 47 postmenopausal women classified as overweight or obese and split them into two groups. The first group was asked to eat all food within a 12-hour window, while the second group was asked to eat within a nine-hour window. Both groups were asked to cut their daily calorie intake by 500 calories.
Participants also participated in a series of tests to measure their baseline intelligence, memory, learning, and reaction times, both at the start of the trial and after six months. By the end of the study, women in both groups lost an average of 15 pounds.
Study Results
Those who ate their food within the eight- to nine-hour window performed significantly better on tests designed to measure their problem-solving and spatial planning. They also made fewer mistakes on the memory and learning tests, although this data wasn’t statistically significant.
According to the report, the researchers noted that they’re not entirely sure why eating within a nine-hour window might boost cognition. However, Sandra Zhang, R.D.N., L.D.N., registered dietitian nutritionist at the Frances Stern Nutrition Center at Tufts Medical Center, suggests that eating between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. could align more closely with your circadian rhythm.
Davide Cappon, Ph.D., director of neuropsychology at Tufts Medical Center, believes there are likely multiple factors at work here. “A longer overnight break from eating may provide benefits beyond weight loss, possibly by improving metabolic health such as blood sugar control and better aligning metabolism with the body’s internal clock,” he says.
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Expert Recommendations
While there is no dementia-protecting diet, experts recommend maintaining healthy habits, such as minimizing added sugar intake, drinking plenty of water, and staying active. Clifford Segil, D.O., a neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center, suggests following the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in vegetables, berries, whole grains, beans, nuts, fish, and olive oil.
The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet is also recommended, which combines aspects of the Mediterranean and DASH diets. This diet encourages followers to eat whole, minimally processed, plant-based foods and limit saturated fats and added sugars.
Experts generally agree that more research is needed to understand the potential benefits of time-restricted eating. However, finishing dinner three or four hours before bed is a change that Gitanjali Srivastava, M.D., medical director of the Obesity Medicine Enterprise at Vanderbilt Health, would recommend anyway.
It’s also worth considering that this was a small pilot study, and more research is needed before drawing firm conclusions. As Keri Gans, R.D.N., dietitian and host of The Keri Report podcast, notes, “Because this was a small pilot study and improvements were limited to certain thinking skills, more research is needed before drawing firm conclusions.”
For now, it seems that eating consistently throughout the day and avoiding heavy meals late at night may be a good starting point. As Zhang says, “I encourage people to eat consistently throughout the day and avoid heavy meals late at night, rather than focusing on a strict fasting window.”
They recommend maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
