Scientists have discovered that our bodies have a “food clock,” which could prove to be a useful tool in the fight against obesity.
To test the theory that your body has an internal mechanism that controls when you’re hungry — like the much discussed body clock that tells you when you should be asleep or awake — American and Japanese researchers performed studies on mice.
Mice are usually active at night, so that’s when they need to eat. However, the research team was able to adjust the internally regulated feeding cycle of the mice by only providing food for short periods during the day. After a few weeks, the mice switched their sleeping patterns in order to be awake in the daytime. Right before their new mealtime, the mice also seemed more alert and they exhibited food- seeking behavior.
The researchers examined the brains of the mice and found that specific genes became active in their bodies during mealtimes. The food clock is thought to be in a part of the brain called the “dorsomedial hypothalamatic nucleus.”
These findings seem to demonstrate that not only is there a molecular food clock in our bodies, but also that it can overpower the body’s sleep clock as well. This makes sense, as when it comes to survival, food is more necessary than sleep.
The body clock is normally based on the 24-hour cycle of day and night, which basically revolves with the cycle of the sun. This clock usually dominates your activity — telling you when to snooze and when to wake up. However, the newly discovered food clock could be able to override the sleeping/waking cycle when food sources are limited or when the mealtime schedule is altered.
As the food clock seems to control appetite and the desire to munch on food, it could be used to help obese people lose weight or to help control diabetes. For example, if you have the overwhelming urge to snack throughout the day, it could be possible — through some kind of medication or behavioral therapy — to fix your food clock so that you only want to eat at regular mealtimes.
If researchers can figure out how it works, and how exactly to adjust it in humans, the internal food clock could be a discovery that will launch a whole new way of promoting healthy eating.
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Tags: diabetics help, healthy foods, obesity
