Institute and Policlinic for Occupational Medicine, Environmental Medicine and Prevention Research, University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Institute of Neurobiology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2020 Apr;16(4):213-223. doi: 10.1038/s41574-020-0318-z. Epub 2020 Feb 13.
Meal timing and composition are frequently reported in the literature as zeitgebers (that is, time cues) for the circadian system of humans and animal models, albeit secondary to light. Although widely assumed to be true, evidence for food zeitgeber effects specific to humans is notably scarce. Fostering zeitgeber hygiene in the general population as the development and practice of healthy use of zeitgebers could potentially reduce chronobiological strain, which is defined as disruption or misalignment within the circadian system. Such chronobiological strain is associated with modern 24/7 lifestyles (for example, shift work) and several negative health outcomes. Adjustments to meal timing and composition are an attractive strategy to synchronize circadian rhythms and develop zeitgeber hygiene. Thus, clarifying the actual effect of meal timing and composition on the human circadian system is a crucial piece of the human chronobiology puzzle. This Review weighs the evidence from human studies pertaining to the hypothesis that food is a circadian zeitgeber by comparing findings against formal zeitgeber criteria put forward by Jürgen Aschoff in the 1950s.
用餐时间和组成在文献中经常被报道为人类和动物模型生物钟的 Zeitgeber（即时间提示），尽管次于光。尽管人们普遍认为这是事实，但针对人类的特定食物 Zeitgeber 效应的证据却明显缺乏。在普通人群中培养 Zeitgeber 卫生，作为健康使用 Zeitgeber 的发展和实践，可能会减少生物钟压力，生物钟压力定义为生物钟系统内的中断或失准。这种生物钟压力与现代 24/7 生活方式（例如，轮班工作）和几种负面健康结果有关。调整用餐时间和组成是一种有吸引力的策略，可以使昼夜节律同步并发展 Zeitgeber 卫生。因此，阐明用餐时间和组成对人体生物钟系统的实际影响是人类生物钟难题的关键部分。本综述通过将发现与 20 世纪 50 年代 Jürgen Aschoff 提出的正式 Zeitgeber 标准进行比较，权衡了与食物是昼夜节律 Zeitgeber 这一假设相关的人体研究证据。
