The term “dinner cancelling”, also known as evening fasting, refers to a diet in which, depending on the rhythm of the day, from a certain time onwards, the intake of food is abstained from. According to the recommendation of the supporters of the Dinner Cancelling should lie between the last meal of the day and the breakfast on the next morning at least 14 hours. Thus, in the vast majority of cases, food intake should be stopped from 5 p.m. at the latest. Dinner Cancelling is actually a tightened version of the old rule: “Eat like an emperor in the morning, like a king at noon and like a beggar in the evening.” A Chinese proverb more than 3,000 years old also states, “Leave dinner to your enemies. “Proponents of dinner cancelling believe this diet is a suitable method to reduce weight. They also believe that dinner cancelling can slow down the aging process.
Working principle
The few studies that exist on the subject of body weight reduction through dinner cancelling are overall contradictory. One study in mice suggests that food intake during the night contributes more to obesity than the same intake of food during the day. In contrast, no effect of evening food intake on body weight development was observed in the epidemiological follow-up of the NHANES-I study involving over 7,000 women and men and a follow-up period of ten years. Berg et al. (2009) examined the relationship between meal patterns and overweight in 3,610 participants aged 25 to 74 years. They found that obesity was significantly associated with shifting meals to later hours of the day. The anti-aging effect of dinner cancelling is attributed primarily to the stimulation of the nocturnal release of the hormones somatropin (somatotropic hormone, STH; human growth hormone, HGH) and melatonin. These two hormones are believed by proponents to have the ability to slow the biological aging process. Somatropin and melatonin are produced especially heavily by the body at a young age. The growth hormone somatropin is thought to promote the regeneration of the body’s cells, stimulate muscle growth, slow fat storage and strengthen the immune system. Melatonin regulates the sleep-wake cycle, and is thought to be responsible for the nightly decrease in body temperature and slowing of cell division. By slowing down the body’s functions during sleep, it is believed to reduce the aging process. It also increases the antioxidant potential of cells, preserves mitochondrial homeostasis, decreases free radical release, and protects mitochondrial ATP synthesis. In the majority of studies, melatonin also inhibited (inhibited) the development and/or growth of various experimental animal tumors and some human cell lines in vitro. The effect of melatonin on apoptosis (programmed cell death) is of particular interest because it appears to promote apoptosis in many tumor cells. In contrast, it appears to prevent apoptosis of normal cells. In animal studies with mice and rats, a direct correlation between reduced melatonin production and accelerated aging has been shown. However, this connection has not yet been sufficiently proven in human studies.Another assumption about dinner cancelling is that by fasting in the evening, the body is relieved of digestive work during the night. This is said to allow deeper and healthier sleep. In addition, there is an assumption that digestion during the night in particular produces free radicals. These are held responsible for the aging of the cells. Therefore, if no food is fed in the evening, there is no need to digest at night, so according to Dinner Cancelling, better regeneration is possible during the sleep phase.
Implementation
The Dinner Cancelling concept does not include a strict diet plan, but only general nutrition rules. A diet rich in vital substances and not excessively fatty is recommended. During the food-free period, only the intake of calorie-free drinks such as water or unsweetened tea is allowed.
Nutritional evaluation
Benefits
Dinner cancelling is simple to use.In addition, many have the positive side effect of reducing the total amount of food or energy consumed. This can be attributed in particular to the renunciation of evening snacks, such as chips, sweets or alcohol.
Disadvantages
Abstaining from evening meals carries the risk of food cravings. In addition, the concept tempts some to overindulge in food just before the evening fast. In addition, with Dinner Cancelling the change to a healthier diet is only of secondary importance. The sometimes difficult feasibility in everyday life is another disadvantage of Dinner Cancelling. For working people in particular, dinner is often the only meal shared with family or friends, which is significant in terms of social issues.
Contraindications
Metabolic diseases such as diabetes mellitus should be treated with caution when practicing dinner cancelling.
Conclusion
Studies on the effect of dinner cancelling on body weight, of which there are only a few to date, are inconclusive overall. Thus, it has not yet been shown with certainty that the timing of food intake has an effect on body weight. Thus, according to the German Nutrition Society (DGE), it is still true that the amount of energy ingested or consumed over the entire day is decisive for body weight.Further studies must be awaited in order to form a final judgment on the benefits of dinner cancelling.
