The hidden clock: How meal timing sabotages blood sugar — and what science says you can do about it

 Circadian rhythms dictate glucose metabolism — eating late disrupts insulin sensitivity, raising diabetes risk.

Genetics influence meal timing preferences, but shifting calories earlier in the day can still improve metabolic health.

Consistent meal schedules stabilize blood sugar, while irregular eating worsens insulin resistance.

Evening habits (alcohol, sedentary behavior, poor sleep) spike overnight glucose — small changes yield significant benefits.

Personalized experiments (tracking meals, blood sugar and timing) help optimize individual metabolic responses.

For decades, nutritional advice has fixated on what we eat — cut refined carbs, boost fiber, balance macros. But a growing body of research now confirms that when we eat may be just as critical to blood sugar control, insulin sensitivity and long-term metabolic health....<<<Read More>>>...

A Word on "Circadian Rhythms"

 One biological rhythm is the 24-hour circadian rhythm (often known as the ‘body clock’), which is reset by levels of light. The word circadian is from the Latin ‘circa’ which means ‘about’, and ‘dian’, which means ‘day’.

The sleep-wake cycle is an example of a circadian rhythm, which dictates when humans and animals should be asleep and awake. Light provides the primary input to this system, acting as the external cue for sleeping or waking. Light is first detected by the eye, which then sends messages concerning the level of brightness to the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). The SCN then uses this information to coordinate the activity of the entire circadian system. Sleeping and wakefulness are not determined by the circadian rhythm alone, but also by homoeostasis. When an individual has been awake for a long time, homeostasis tells the body that there is a need for sleep because of energy consumption. This homeostatic drive for sleep increases throughout the day, reaching its maximum in the late evening, when most people fall asleep.

Body temperature is another circadian rhythm. Human body temperature is at its lowest in the early hours of the morning (36^oC at 4:30 am) and at its highest in the early evening (38^oC at 6 pm). Sleep typically occurs when the core temperature starts to drop, and the body temperature starts to rise towards the end of a sleep cycle promoting feelings of alertness first thing in the morning...<<<Read More>>>...

Improve Your Health by Optimizing Your Circadian Rhythm

[Wake Up World]: In 2017, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to three U.S. biologists — Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young — for their discovery of master genes that control your body’s circadian rhythms. Panda explains:

“The bottom line is almost every cell in our body has its own clock. In every cell, the clock regulates a different set of genes, [telling them] when to turn on and [when to] turn off.

As a result, almost every hormone in your body, every brain chemical, every digestive juice and every organ that you can think of, its core function rises and falls at certain times of the day [in a coordinated fashion].

For example, your growth hormone might rise in the middle of the night, in the middle of sleep. At the same time, if there is not [too much] food in your stomach, then the stomach lining will start to repair. For that repair to work perfectly, the growth hormone from the brain has to coincide with the stomach repair time.

In that way, different rhythms in different parts of our body have to work together for the entire body to work optimally. In fact, to have these daily rhythms and sleep-wake cycle, being more alert in the morning, having the bowel movement at the right time, having better muscle tone in the afternoon, these rhythms are the fountain of health. That’s the indication of health.”

The idea that you could possibly micromanage this intricately timed system from the outside is foolish in the extreme. As Panda notes in his book, the key, really, is to pay attention to and honor ancient patterns of waking, sleeping and eating.6 By doing that, your body more or less takes care of itself automatically....<<<Read More>>>...

Melatonin Insight

Melatonin is a hormone, produced in the brain, that carries out a wide range of roles in the body; the most well known of its functions is the control of circadian (daily) rhythms.

Melatonin is also used medically in a number of conditions, including radiation exposure, Alzheimer's disease, and tinnitus.

Produced in the pineal gland in the brain, melatonin helps control sleep-wake cycles. Some foods contain melatonin, and it is also available as a pill.

Of melatonin's many functions, the best understood is the part it plays in maintaining circadian rhythms. In humans, the circadian "clock" is found within the hypothalamus in an area called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Using the daily cycle of light and dark, the SCN creates and maintains a daily cycle. Certain hormones are released at specific times of the day. In the late afternoon and early evening, hormones are released that prepare the body for sleep. During the early hours of the morning, the body starts to prepare for waking and activity....read more>>>...

What Is the Circadian Rhythm?

Often referred to as the "body clock," the circadian rhythm is a cycle that tells our bodies when to sleep, rise, eat—regulating many physiological processes. This internal body clock is affected by environmental cues, like sunlight and temperature.

When one's circadian rhythm is disrupted, sleeping and eating patterns can run amok. A growing body of research is examining the adverse health effects a disrupted circadian rhythm can have, like increasing the chances of cardiovascular events, obesity, and a correlation with neurological problems like depression and bipolar disorder.

A circadian rhythm is a roughly 24 hour cycle in the physiological processes of living beings, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria. In a strict sense, circadian rhythms are endogenously generated, although they can be modulated by external cues such as sunlight and temperature.

Circadian rhythms are important in determining the sleeping and feeding patterns of all animals, including human beings. There are clear patterns of brain wave activity, hormone production, cell regeneration and other biological activities linked to this daily cycle.

Our cellular energy ebbs and flows according to our circadian rhythms

Natural News: There are various genetically controlled clocks inside different parts of our bodies, like our heart, kidneys, and liver. These clocks have all sorts of functions, one of which is triggering many metabolic processes to that these happen at the optimal time of day.

Mitochondria are small organelles that can be found in almost all our cells. Mitochondria also supply them with energy, and they are crucial in these cellular processes. Before this study, it was unknown how the 24-hour circadian rhythm controlled energy metabolism.

For the majority of the cells, mitochondria are linked to an ever-changing network that can adapt to different conditions. This means mitochondria can combine and then divide again. This also means that interruptions of this fission-fusion dynamic may cause health problems....read more>>>...

Circadian Rhythm

Re-Timer.com: The body has an internal clock called a circadian rhythm, helping you to sleep in the evening and wake in the morning. Your sleep health and overall wellbeing is dependent on your circadian rhythm working correctly; and remaining synchronised with night and day.

The most important external indicator to help keep your body synchronised with this routine is light. When the eye senses light, it sends a signal to your brain to be awake. When it becomes dark in the evening, your body produces melatonin, often called the sleepy hormone signalling your body to sleep at night. The combination of biological processes in response to light and darkness are crucial factors for your body to remain synchronised and sleep at the right time. If you do not receive light at the right times due to the winter months or lifestyle factors, this can confuse your circadian rhythm leaving you unable to sleep when you need to.

If individuals try to sleep at a time that does not match their circadian rhythm then this can result in the following:

Poor sleep quality
Insufficient sleep duration
Sleepiness and fatigue
Impaired overall well-being in family and social life
Decreased motor and cognitive performance ... read more>>>....

A Word on "Circadian Rhythm"

Science Daily: A circadian rhythm is a roughly 24 hour cycle in the physiological processes of living beings, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria. In a strict sense, circadian rhythms are endogenously generated, although they can be modulated by external cues such as sunlight and temperature. Circadian rhythms are important in determining the sleeping and feeding patterns of all animals, including human beings. There are clear patterns of brain wave activity, hormone production, cell regeneration and other biological activities linked to this daily cycle...read more>>>...

Circadian Rhythms Influence our Immune System, Study Shows

Wiley notes, "Sleep is the biggest immunological defense scheme we've come up with yet. We and everything else alive from plankton and fungus to elephants and ants are synchronized to the orbit and rotation of the earth in and out of the sun's light to assure us a food supply. All things great and small have internal sundials that measure time with molecular clocks in every cell that switch genes on and off. The light always spark biochemical reactions and now mankind controls light and dark and we live in an endless summer. And as such we have disrupted our natural circadian rhythm."

It's common knowledge that too little sleep can increase our odds of getting sick, but a new study sheds light on just how direct the connection is. Researchers found that the body's circadian clock controls an essential immune system gene in mice -- a gene that helps the body ward off bacteria and viruses...read more>>>...