A study suggests that eating all of your meals in a 6-hour window may prevent diabetes.

A research team at the University of Alabama tested a time-restricted diet in eight overweight men who were all on the threshold of developing type 2 diabetes.

For five weeks in the Spring of 2018 the volunteers ate identical breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Half were assigned to eat all three meals within a 6-hour period ending no later than 3pm, while the other four ate within a more typical 12-hour time frame. After five weeks, the groups swapped for a further five weeks.

The time limit led to improved sugar control. The team also saw drops in overall appetite and blood pressure (Cell Metabolism, doi.org/cpmh). These effects were not due to weight loss, since everyone ate enough to maintain their weight. Instead, eating earlier in the day may align better with circadian rhythms.

 The basic premise is that we have  evolved to be active during the day, so it makes sense for our metabolism to rev up at the beginning of the day and rev down at night to be as efficient as possible.   (New Scientist, May 2018).

Peace of mind gets a sad jolt if you are told you are pre-diabetic.  In America, if the blood test shows an A1C of 6.5 you are officially a diabetic.  So you are pre-diabetic at about 5.8.  A lot of Americans fall into this category.  But the good news is that you can reverse the A1C reading; I know, because I have done it myself ( with careful diet).  The above may be another approach.