You Are What You Eat: Food May Impact Your Body's Biological Clock

You are what you eat, and scientists have found that this is more true than ever before. What type of food you eat can influence your body's internal biological clock, which regulates the daily rhythm of many aspects of behavior and biology.

A person's internal biological clock plays an important role in preferred sleep times, times of peak alertness, and the timing of certain physiological processes. In fact, this clock enables maximum expression of genes at certain times of the day. Yet if a person's clock happens to be a bit "off," then problems can occur.

"Chronic desynchronization between physiological and environment rhythms not only decreases physiological performance but also carries a significant risk of diverse disorders such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, sleep disorders, and cancer," said Makoto Akashi, one of the researchers, in a news release.

The circadian clock has two major pathways. One pathway responds to light and has been well studied. Yet there's a second pathway-one that responds to food.

In order to better understand this less-understood pathway, the researchers conducted experiments in cells and mice. Using cell culture, the researchers discovered that insulin may be involved in resetting the circadian clock.

"Insulin-mediated phase adjustment of the clock in feeding-relevant tissues may enable the synchronization between mealtime and tissue function, leading to effective digestion and absorption," said Akashi. "In short, insulin may help the stomach clock synchronize with mealtime."

The findings actually reveal how to adjust the circadian clock through dietary manipulation. For example, for jet lag dinner should be enriched with ingredients promoting insulin secretion. This could lead to a phase advance of the circadian clock. In addition, the research reveals that clock adjustments through feeding may not work well with individuals with insulin resistance.

The findings are published in the journal Cell Reports.