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

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Those who choose intermittent fasting have a variety of options to enjoy.

You could eat for eight hours a day and fast for 16, or eat just one meal a day for two days a week. The goal is to reduce inflammation and encourage your body to burn fat. Now, researchers are finding that overnight fasting may have benefits beyond weight loss.

Math teacher Desiree Valdez enjoys the joy she gets from helping others solve problems, but her own health numbers weren’t looking good last year.

“My blood pressure was rising and I was gaining weight during that time,” she recalls.

No matter what she tried, nothing worked.

“I did a 16-hour fast and an eight-hour diet,” she said.

Hypertension Specialist Dr. Maria Delgado of the University of Miami Comprehensive Hypertension Center I recommended that Valdes try overnight fasting to allow her body to reset naturally.

“Eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, and that includes eating before bed,” Delgado says. “That alone is a big problem because it activates the pancreas. It puts you at higher risk for diabetes and doesn’t metabolize cholesterol well.”

Nighttime fasting boosts your metabolism, prevents late-night blood sugar spikes, and reduces inflammation. study Fasting for more than 14 hours has been shown to actually alter genes related to longevity, and 30 days of intermittent fasting has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and neuropsychiatric disorders.

“Nighttime is when your cells are resting, but it’s also when your cells are regenerating,” Delgado says, “so your body is able to cleanse itself while you’re not eating.”

As part of the fast, Valdez drinks only water, green tea, and black coffee for the 16 hours he fasts, then eats whatever he wants for the remaining eight hours. Six months later, he’s lost nearly 50 pounds and his blood pressure is normal.

“Before, I was a slightly overweight, healthy 50-year-old, but now I feel young,” Valdes said.

Another benefit of time-restricted feeding is that it may help Alzheimer’s disease patients: A study from the University of California, San Diego found that mice placed on a time-restricted diet had improved memory and sleep.