Tucking into your morning meal earlier and steering clear of late-night dining slashes the risk of heart attack or stroke, recent French research claims. The study revealed that those who have their first food at 9 am encounter a six per cent increased peril of developing cardiovascular disease compared to early birds breaking fast at 8 am.
Additionally, enjoying food past 9 pm was linked with a whopping 28 per cent heightened jeopardy of suffering from cerebrovascular disease – such as a stroke – especially in women. Detailed in the prestige journal Nature Communications, the study also indicates that a more extended period of “night-time fasting” between the final bite of the day and the initial morsel the next morning, correlates with lower stroke risk.
It’s a sobering thought when cardiovascular conditions top the list of deadly diseases globally, as per the Global Burden of Disease study; they claimed around 18.6 million lives in 2019 alone with diet-related issues accounting for approximately 7.9 million of these unfortunate deaths. Experts suggest our Western lifestyle is largely to blame, identifying sinister dietary customs like skimping on brekkie or indulging in late dinners.
They explained that a regular rhythm of munching and fasting tunes the body’s peripheral clocks or circadian rhythms, which in turn affect various functions including how blood pressure is regulated. With health implications now being examined through the lens of chrononutrition, it aims to unravel the ties that bind the timing of our grub intake to our circadian clockwork and wellbeing.
Utilising data from over 103,000 French individuals, predominately female (79%) with an average age of 42, scientists investigated the potential links between dietary patterns and cardiovascular disease. Dr Bernard Srour commented: “The results show that having a first meal later in the day – such as when skipping breakfast – is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, with a six per cent increase in risk per hour delay.”, reports Gloucestershire Live.
He elaborated by saying, “For example, a person who eats for the first time at 9am is six per cent more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than someone who eats at 8am. When it comes to the last meal of the day, eating late – after 9pm- is associated with a 28 per cent increase in the risk of cerebrovascular disease such as stroke compared with eating before 8pm, particularly in women.”
The study also pointed out that “Finally, a longer duration of night-time fasting – the time between the last meal of the day and the first meal of the following day – is associated with a reduced risk of cerebrovascular disease, supporting the idea of eating one’s first and last meals earlier in the day.”
Adding further insight, Dr Srour from the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment in France mentioned, “These findings, which need to be replicated in other cohorts and through additional scientific studies with different designs, highlight a potential role for meal timing in preventing cardiovascular disease.”
“They suggest that adopting the habit of eating earlier first and last meals with a longer period of night-time fasting could help to prevent the risk of cardiovascular disease.”