How fasting alters genetic expression

One of the fastest growing diet trends has less to do with what you eat or how much, but when you eat. Restricting meal times, a practice sometimes called intermittent fasting or time restricted eating, comes in many forms, but it generally involves limiting when you eat to certain windows.

Intriguingly, fasting isn't merely about weight loss. A great deal of research suggests that this behavior can spur a whole host of health benefits, from improved mental state to more restful sleep. Weight loss, of course, is the benefit often most hyped. The Reddit forum for intermittent fasting, for example, has over 860,000 members, many of which share before and after photos of massive weight loss.

Simply restricting eating to an 8 to 10 hour window can change the way our genes express themselves, which has broad implications for human health.