How time-restricted eating can transform health and provide benefits beyond weight loss

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Those who choose intermittent fasting benefit from a wide range of options.

You can eat for eight hours a day and fast for 16 hours, or you can eat just one meal a day two days a week. The goal is to reduce inflammation and get your body to burn fat. Now, researchers have found that fasting at night may have more benefits than just weight loss.

Desiree Valdez, a math teacher, enjoys helping other people solve problems, but her own health has been failing over the past year.

“During this time, my blood pressure and weight increased,” she recalls.

No matter what she tried, nothing worked.

“I committed to a 16-hour fast and eight-hour eating,” she said.

Hypertension specialist Dr. Maria Delgado of the University of Miami’s Comprehensive Hypertension Center recommended that Valdez try fasting overnight to naturally reset her body.

“You eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, and that includes eating before bed,” Delgado said. “So that alone is a big problem because it activates your pancreas. It increases your risk of diabetes, your cholesterol is not metabolized well.”

Nighttime fasting increases metabolism, prevents late-night blood sugar spikes, and reduces inflammation. One study found that a fasting window of more than 14 hours actually alters genes linked to longevity, and intermittent fasting for 30 days lowers the risk of cancer, Alzheimer’s, and neuropsychiatric disorders.

“Night is the time when cells rest, but it is also the time of cell regeneration,” Delgado said. “So you can cleanse your body during this time when you are not eating.”

As part of the fast, Valdez commits to drinking only water, green tea and black coffee during the 16 hours of the fast. During the other eight hours, she eats whatever she wants. After six months, she had lost nearly 50 pounds and her blood pressure was normal.

“I used to be just fit, a fit 50-year-old, a little chubby. But now I feel youthful,” Valdez said.

Another benefit of time-restricted feeding is that it may help Alzheimer’s patients. A study from UC San Diego found that mice fed on a time-restricted schedule showed improvements in memory and sleep.