When You Eat Is More Important Than What You Eat
A practical guide to time-restricted eating
The latest science around fasting is catching a lot of attention. Studies show time-restricted eating (TRE) increases lifespan and decreases the incidence of major diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular disease.
TRE means consuming all your calories — whether from food or drink — within a specific time frame each day, called the eating window.
It turns out you can greatly impact your health just by limiting your daily eating window. The quality of your diet still matters, of course, but the success of TRE lends credence to the idea that when you eat is even more important than what you eat.
Every time you eat — even just a bite of food — it triggers a process of digestion, absorption, and metabolism that takes hours to complete. And when your body is dedicated to processing food, it can’t also repair and restore.
Dr. Satchin Panda is arguably the world’s top expert on TRE. Panda is a professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and author of the book The Circadian Code. He has also analyzed the daily eating, sleeping, and…
