One of my dear friends, a very famous functional doc, bemoaned to me recently that he’s getting fat. I asked why. He responded (and I’ll keep his name private here) “I sit in front of the TV at night and eat junk food. Can’t seem to help myself.”
That about sums it up.
It’s become a cultural norm to lay on the couch munching late at night, watching the tube.
What is this doing to our lowly adipocyte? The fat cell.
Brigham and Women's Hospital Study
Brigham and Women's Hospital is the second-largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. In one of their recent studies, their researchers demonstrated experimental evidence that late eating causes decreased energy expenditure, increased hunger, and changes in fat tissue that combined, increase obesity risk. Regardless of how hard you try to walk a bit more and eat a bit less.
In this study, the scientists asked, “Does the time that we eat matter when everything else is kept consistent?"
Results showed that eating four hours later (like 10 PM) makes a significant difference in our hunger levels, the way we burn calories after we eat, the way we store fat, and how we can lose fat once we attempt weight loss efforts.
Like most pilot studies, this was a small initial study. The team studied 16 patients with a body mass index (BMI) in the overweight or obese range. Their eating schedules were tightly monitored.
Biopsies of adipose tissue from participants were taken during early and late eating protocols. This allowed the researchers to compare “gene expression” patterns between these two eating conditions.
Results: Eating later had profound effects on hunger and appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin, which influence our drive to eat. As well as gene expression of fat cells. Gene expression is the overall control of fat cell “isness”.
Eating later lowered levels of the hormone leptin. Leptin is our satiety hormone.
Less leptin means you are hungry more often. You try to consume appropriate amounts, but your hunger is “driving you crazy”.
This means that when you snack later in the evening, the next day you have less “control” over what you put into your mouth. Leading you to eat more. Without realizing why.
Also, when participants ate later, they burned calories at a slower rate. Drat!
Shockingly to me, also, the later eater’s adipose tissue “gene expression” changed. To one of “increased adipogenesis” and “decreased lipolysis”.
This means that eating later at night promoted more fat cell growth. More love handles. Harder to lose no matter what you do.
Do you feel as though you only look at food and put on weight?
These findings are consistent with a large body of research suggesting that eating later increases one's likelihood of developing obesity. But what’s amazing is that it sheds new light on how this happens.
Late-night eating is now demonstrated to be an “epigenetic trigger”. That keeps fat cells working against your weight loss efforts. Rather than for them.
Health is all of a thing. A tapestry. Everything counts. Movement, time spent sitting, food choices, thoughts, hidden secrets, and those you hang with, all affect who you are.
Now another factor counts. Not only what you put into your mouth, but “when”.
This doesn’t mean you can never snack and enjoy popcorn while Netflix binging. But don’t do it on a regular basis, or blame your functional doc for not losing weight when it’s your munching while couch surfing that’s part of your fat cell nemesis.
Be well.
Be smart.
Take a look at how you are living has effects on how you feel inside your body suit.
Dr. B.
Researching, connecting the dots in meaningful ways & sharing with you makes me Happy! I love connecting live over Zoom with many of you in my monthly membership webinars. Not a part of the Live or Pro Level membership? Learn more here: Berkson Health Membership Groups
Reference:
Late isocaloric eating increases hunger, decreases energy expenditure, and modifies metabolic pathways in adults with overweight and obesity. Cell Metabolism, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2022.09.007
If people properly nourish themselves with a diet that includes healthy fats, this late night starvation feeling does not kick in. I see many patients who crave potato chips because they are on a low salt diet, when they should just dump processed food and eat real sea salt, pasture meats, and good veg.
Pesticides and heavy metals destroy the gut, so avoiding them is key. I have stopped eating brown rice for this reason. What used to be a healthy choice now is full of arsenic. Just ordered organic potatoes to plant for next season, though I’m not fond of gardening, so we have clean starches. And I can always make vodka if times get lean