Timing of Food/Nutrient Intake and Its Health Benefits

Growing evidence from animal and human research indicates the importance of homeostatic regulation of the circadian clock in the body. Dysfunction of the circadian clock caused by jet lag or night-shift work increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Thus, it is important to consider the circadian clock function for prevention of these diseases. Chrono-nutrition is a recently established research field that examines the relationship between the timing of food/nutrition and health. It is well known that breakfast skipping and late-night meals are independent risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Chrono-nutrition also advocates research on nutrition and the biological clock and the social implementation of the research. Breakfast can advance the phase of the peripheral clock, but late dinner can delay it. Moreover, many functional foods and nutrients, such as caffeine and polyphenols, regulate the circadian clock. In this review, we discuss how diet/nutrition entrains the peripheral clock and the relationship between meal timing and health outcomes. In addition, the effects of time-restricted feeding/eating on metabolism and related diseases are discussed. Lastly, we introduce "personalized chrono-nutrition," that uses recent progress of technology such as sensors and the artificial intelligence/internet of things (AI/IOT) to promote personalized chrono-nutritional suggestions and health systems.