By Dr. Linda J. Dobberstein, DC, Board Certified in Clinical Nutrition
Chrononutrition is generating a ton of interest lately! But what is it? Chrononutrition is an emerging field of research evaluating how natural circadian rhythms and eating patterns affect metabolism and overall health. Talk shows, blogs, and news programs are a “buzz” with “chrononutrition” and its impact on well-being.
Meal timing, as outlined in the Five Rules of The Leptin Diet, offers an effective and practical way to incorporate chrononutrition into your lifestyle. Beyond meal timing, several key nutrients have been shown to enhance the metabolic mechanisms of chrononutrition and entrain circadian rhythms. Discover which nutrients can enhance chrononutrition and body clocks!
Circadian Rhythms Govern
Circadian rhythms govern your metabolism and physiology. These rhythms are primal and have a profound effect on your physiology. Disturbances in your circadian rhythm ultimately affects the homeostasis of your entire body.
Modern lifestyles easily disrupt these natural circadian rhythms and body clocks. Eating at night, skipping meals, irregular sleep schedules, travel, artificial lights at night, and the Western Diet (high fat, high fructose/simple sugars) can lead to interference with body clocks, gene activity, and the regulation of circadian rhythms. These disruptions result in decreased activity and efficiency of metabolic fat burning times, impact brown fat versus white and beige fat metabolism, influence liver metabolism, disrupt leptin and insulin signaling, disturb sleep and repair, and affect other body functions.
When your “rhythm is off”, you may notice it through small indicators like sugar or snack cravings, fatigue, difficulty staying focused, or challenges in exercising. Reverting to your regular routine often alleviates these feelings.
For individuals consistently facing circadian rhythm challenges, finely tuned intrinsic body clocks may no longer function optimally leading to “chronodisruption”. Chronodisruption refers to a “relevant disturbance” that affects the natural circadian function of physiology, hormones, behavior, and metabolism. Persistent chronodisruption can result in sluggish metabolism, weight gain, blood sugar and blood pressure dysregulation, thyroid and adrenal hormone dysregulation, sleep disruptions, and a cascade of changes affecting your overall physiology and health.
Chrononutrition with meal timing favorably modulates or “entrains” the expression of body clock genes. A diet rich in nutrients supports chrononutrition as opposed to a nutrient poor diet that causes chronodisruption. Nutrients such as green tea extract, nobiletin, quercetin, vitamin D, melatonin, resveratrol, and others support chrononutrition activities of your body.
Biological Clock Enhancing Nutrients
Cutting-edge research in 2017 evaluated the rhythmic expression of circadian clock genes in the liver and fat tissue of mice. Mice fed a high fat, high-fructose diet experienced impaired fat-burning body clock genes in the liver and adipose tissue. Compared to the control group, those fed EGCG from green tea extract showed increased metabolic activity of brown fat and entrainment of SIRT-1 genes, positively entraining body clocks. The control group experienced ongoing issues with weight management and sluggish metabolism. More recent studies also demonstrate green tea extract benefits on circadian rhythm enhancement.
Nobiletin, a citrus flavonoid, is described as a “biological clock enhancer.” Mice bred to be obese were fed a diet that caused a fat-congested liver. They were then fed nobiletin, which resulted in increased activity of body clocks in the liver. This restored healthier circadian patterns and enhanced overall metabolism and burning of fat stores in the liver.
Quercetin, another chrononutrient, has been shown to balance circadian rhythm activity in the liver. In this recent, unique study, mice were fed a vitamin D deficient diet, which induced circadian rhythm disruptions in the liver. To offset this stress response, quercetin, not vitamin D, was given to the mice, resulting in enhanced body clock entrainment in the liver.
Vitamin D and melatonin are also regulators of circadian rhythms. Vitamin D acts as a “biological light sensor” and melatonin as a “biological dark sensor.” With artificial light and altered schedules, etc. vitamin D and melatonin levels and their widespread function is disrupted, affecting broad aspects of health and chrononutrition.
Resveratrol, a polyphenol found in grapes, red wine, peanuts, berries and cocoa, has been shown to be an activator or affect the expression of SIRT-1, BMAL1 and other genes related with circadian clock rhythms. Ongoing research suggests that resveratrol can exert a positive effect on circadian rhythm alignment.
Your diet and lifestyle choices markedly influence the expression or activity of your genes and chronobiology. Modern life readily pushes mankind into state of circadian rhythm disruption or chronodisruption. To offset this loss of homeostasis, we must return to the state of chrononutrition and meal timing. Go back to the basics – breakfast, lunch, and dinner with whole foods. Physical activity, natural daylight exposure first thing in the morning, and being outdoors are essential too!
Add supplemental support to enhance and entrain rhythms when diet and lifestyle are not enough. Wellness Resources offers standardized quality extracts and premier, specialty supplements such as Green Tea Extract, Leptinal which contains nobiletin, Quercetin, Resveratrol Ultra 500, Vitamin D, and Melatonin for metabolic support and optimizing health.
If the clocks in your home, vehicle, or devices are “off”, you change them. Are your body clocks and circadian rhythms out of balance? If so, it’s time for some chrononutrition!
