Why You Should Eat Breakfast (and Other Secrets of Circadian Biology)

Dec. 5, 2018

→ Join the Brainjo Collective ←

Researcher and writer Bill Lagakos, PhD earned his doctorate in Nutritional Biochemistry and Physiology from Rutgers University, with a focus on obesity, insulin resistance, and circadian biology. He went on to post-doctoral research on inflammation and diabetes, which led to an interest and course of study on circadian rhythm with the Mayo clinic. Bill is the author of the book, “The Poor, Misunderstood Calorie,” and maintains an active blog where he explores health-related topics in the scientific literature.

On this podcast with Tommy Wood, MD, Bill discusses critical aspects of entraining circadian rhythm, including the importance of early time-restricted eating. They challenge the concept of chronotypes and discuss why your intermittent fasting program may not be giving you the results you want. Bill also shares his impressions on macronutrient requirements, and the effects of ketosis on body composition and athletic performance.

Here’s the outline of this interview with Bill Lagakos:

[00:00:22] Bill's Patreon page.

[00:00:41] Blog: Calories Proper.

[00:03:47] Circadian rhythm and metabolism.

[00:05:11] Metabolism is gimped at night; Study: Bo, S., et al. "Is the timing of caloric intake associated with variation in diet-induced thermogenesis and in the metabolic pattern? A randomized cross-over study." International Journal of Obesity 39.12 (2015): 1689.

[00:05:26] Meal timing and the circadian regulation of nutrient partitioning; Study: Jakubowicz, Daniela, et al. "Influences of breakfast on clock gene expression and postprandial glycemia in healthy individuals and individuals with diabetes: a randomized clinical trial." Diabetes care (2017): dc162753.

[00:05:54] Studies: Jacobs, H., Thompson, M., Halberg, E., Halberg, F., Fraeber, C., Levine, H. & Haus, E. (1975) Relative body weight loss on limited free-choice meal consumed as breakfast rather than as dinner. Chronobiologia 2 (suppl 1): 33; and Hirsh, E., Halberg, F., Goetz, F.C., Cressey, D., Wendt, H., Sothern, R., Haus, E., Stoney, P., Minors, D., Rosen, G., Hill, B., Hilleren, M. & Garett, K. (1975) Body weight change during 1 week on a single daily 2000-calorie meal consumed as breakfast (B) or dinner (D). Cronobiologia 2 (suppl 1): 31–32.

[00:06:40] Study: Lombardo, Mauro, et al. "Morning meal more efficient for fat loss in a 3-month lifestyle intervention." Journal of the American College of Nutrition 33.3 (2014): 198-205.

[00:08:57] Study: Gasmi, Maha, et al. "Time-restricted feeding influences immune responses without compromising muscle performance in older men." Nutrition 51 (2018): 29-37.

[00:10:20] Study: Gabel, Kelsey, et al. "Effects of 8-hour time restricted feeding on body weight and metabolic disease risk factors in obese adults: A pilot study." Nutrition and Healthy Aging Preprint: 1-9.

[00:12:19] Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.

[00:12:30] Early Time-Restricted Feeding; Study: Sutton, Elizabeth F., et al. "Early time-restricted feeding improves insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, and oxidative stress even without weight loss in men with prediabetes." Cell metabolism 27.6 (2018): 1212-1221.

[00:13:56] Podcast: How to Use Time-Restricted Eating to Reverse Disease and Optimize Health, with Satchin Panda, PhD.

[00:14:16] Continuous energy restriction vs. Intermittent Fasting; Study: Sundfør, T. M., M. Svendsen, and S. Tonstad. "Effect of intermittent versus continuous energy restriction on weight loss, maintenance and cardiometabolic risk: A randomized 1-year trial." Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases (2018).

[00:15:00] Circadian rhythm disruption and disease risk.

[00:16:10] Electronics at night as circadian rhythm disruption.

[00:16:44] Artificial light at night and cancer; Studies: Yuan, Xia, et al. "Night shift work increases the risks of multiple primary cancers in women: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 61 articles." Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Biomarkers 27.1 (2018): 25-40; and Kubo, Tatsuhiko, et al. "Prospective cohort study of the risk of prostate cancer among rotating-shift workers: findings from the Japan collaborative cohort study." American journal of epidemiology 164.6 (2006): 549-555.

[00:20:27] Chronotypes as a species-level distinction.

[00:23:33] Philips goLITE BLU Energy Light.

[00:24:17] Best advice for shift workers.

[00:25:20] Genetic polymorphisms; MTNR gene.

[00:26:38] Sleep deprivation leads to increased calorie consumption. Study: Broussard, Josiane L., et al. "Elevated ghrelin predicts food intake during experimental sleep restriction." Obesity 24.1 (2016): 132-138.

[00:27:41] Sleep contributes to the maintenance of lean body mass. Study: Nedeltcheva, Arlet V., et al. "Insufficient sleep undermines dietary efforts to reduce adiposity." Annals of internal medicine 153.7 (2010): 435-441.

[00:29:12] Macronutrient composition of diet.

[00:29:23] Book: The Poor, Misunderstood Calorie, by William Lagakos, PhD.

[00:30:12] Reduced industrial foods resulting in weight loss; Study: Ebbeling, Cara B., et al. "Effects of a low–glycemic load vs low-fat diet in obese young adults: a randomized trial." Jama 297.19 (2007): 2092-2102.

[00:30:31] Calories less important when eating processed foods; Monkey study: Kavanagh, Kylie, et al. "Trans fat diet induces abdominal obesity and changes in insulin sensitivity in monkeys." Obesity 15.7 (2007): 1675-1684.

[00:32:16] Protein intake recommendations.

[00:34:44] The glucose-sparing effect of ketones.

[00:35:47] Protein needed to maintain lean-muscle mass during keto. Study: Meckling, Kelly A., Caitriona O’sullivan, and Dayna Saari. "Comparison of a low-fat diet to a low-carbohydrate diet on weight loss, body composition, and risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease in free-living, overweight men and women." The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 89.6 (2004): 2717-2723.

[00:36:43] Ketogenic diets and mental health.

[00:37:24] Neuroprotective properties of keto; Study: Maalouf, Marwan, Jong M. Rho, and Mark P. Mattson. "The neuroprotective properties of calorie restriction, the ketogenic diet, and ketone bodies." Brain research reviews 59.2 (2009): 293-315.

[00:37:40] Poor adherence to keto in more severe dementia. Study: Taylor, Matthew K., et al. "Feasibility and efficacy data from a ketogenic diet intervention in Alzheimer's disease." Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions 4 (2018): 28-36.

[00:38:02] MCT oil used to moderate cognitive decline; Study: Henderson, Samuel T., et al. "Study of the ketogenic agent AC-1202 in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial." Nutrition & metabolism 6.1 (2009): 31.

[00:38:39] Keto for Bipolar Disorder; Study: Phelps, James R., Susan V. Siemers, and Rif S. El-Mallakh. "The ketogenic diet for type II bipolar disorder." Neurocase 19.5 (2013): 423-426.

[00:39:14] Consultation with clients.

[00:41:02] Blog post on changing sleep duration: Circadian rhythms, sleep deprivation, and human performance.

[00:42:21] Athletics and adaptation to ketosis.

[00:43:25] Wingate test.

[00:43:46] Olympic weightlifters; Study: Greene, David A., et al. "A Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet Reduces Body Mass Without Compromising Performance in Powerlifting and Olympic Weightlifting Athletes." The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 32.12 (2018): 3373-3382.

[00:45:52] Blog; Twitter; Patreon.