総 説

時間栄養学

小田裕昭,孫 淑敏,金 多恩,中島俊介

名古屋大学大学院生命農学研究科

Many organisms have biological clocks that are essential for their survival. These clocks tell us when it is a better time to obtain food as well as when there is a reduced vulnerability to predation. They also tell us the right time to metabolize the food,thereby contributing to the health and survival. This intrinsic and genetically written internal clock is closely related to the maintenance of health and survival. Since the ancient times,it has been said that a regular diet is the secret to good health. It has also been found that diet synchronizes the clocks of internal organs that control the metabolism such as the digestive tract and the liver. The digestive tract has a huge cell-group like organ called the gut microbiota that significantly influences health. The gut microbiota also passively exhibits a diurnal rhythm,and the research on its relationship with the body clock is ongoing. It has been found that irregular eating habits induce abnormal lipid metabolism that is linked to obesity and metabolic syndrome. The timing of the meals regulates the body clock. The rhythm of the body clock as well as the intestinal microbiota that is regulated as a result of the meal timings is taken as the quantitative “constitution of an individual”. The comprehensive biological rhythm can be regarded as a “rhythmome” that is used as big biological data for precision nutrition (personalized nutrition). In this paper,I will introduce chrononutrition and how it has shown us that the timing of meals influences metabolic syndrome and lifestyle-related diseases through these body clocks.
Key Words: chrononutrition,clock genes,microbiota,rhythmome,precision nutrition

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