Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that restricting eating for 8-12 hours is much better than eating a little now and then. This time-restricted eating can affect the balance of intestinal bacteria, helping to prevent and even reverse obesity and type 2 diabetes. Even an occasional weekend “indulgence” does not offset the benefits of time-restricted eating. Previously, Dr. Satchidananda Panda found that time-restricted eating helped prevent obesity caused by high-fat diets. ”We found that feeding mice at 8-12 hour intervals was protective and beneficial to their health compared to mice that could eat at any time. Both groups of mice consumed the same amount of food and took in the same total calories,” Dr. Panda said. Dr. Panda’s team found that the gut microbiome is highly dynamic, with the ratio of different bacteria fluctuating periodically from day to day. Diet-induced obesity actually disrupts this cyclical fluctuation. The study showed that time-restricted eating could restore some of the normal fluctuations in the microbiome. ”Without altering genetics, nutrition or calories, and without pharmacological intervention, the timing of eating can influence physiological function through the gut microbiome, and thus determine whether the body is healthy or not. This discovery opens up a new area of research and provides a low-cost strategy for health care,” said Dr. Panda. The study could help biologists understand the causes of metabolic diseases from a new perspective. The researchers noted that the unhealthy gut microbiome of modern lifestyles is associated with unstable dietary patterns.