Episode 79: Satchin Panda discusses circadian rhythms and time-restricted eating to improve health and even reverse disease

Dr. Satchin Panda is a professor and researcher at the Salk Institute who has become recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on circadian rhythm. In today’s wide-ranging interview, he discusses how the body’s natural day-night cycle can help us improve our health, get a better night’s sleep and lose weight. He also shares how adopting a lifestyle that is aligned with the body’s natural internal clock can even help us prevent and reverse disease. Satchin also has been generating significant attention for his research into the health benefits of time-restricted eating. He is the author of “The Circadian Code” and in today’s interview he shares how listeners can become involved in a research project he and his colleagues are conducting through a smartphone app called My Circadian Clock. In addition to his work at the Salk Institute, Satchin is also a founding executive member of the Center for Circadian Biology at the University of California, San Diego.  Key topics covered in today’s interview include: [00:03:46] How a rapidly evolving modern society disrupts the interconnectedness of our biological rhythms. [00:13:41] How Satchin became interested in circadian rhythms and metabolism. [00:17:11] Satchin’s first mouse study on time-restricting feeding, which so surprised him that he ended up repeating the study three times. [00:21:37] The role of ketosis in time-restricted eating, particularly in regard to weight loss and potential health benefits. [00:25:01] Whether having black coffee signals the beginning of a person’s eating window. [00:27:31] The potential use of caffeine to treat jet lag induced by international time-zone travel. [00:29:31] Satchin’s mouse studies that looked at obesity and type-2 diabetes. [00:30:58] The dangers of shift work and the importance of sleep. [00:45:39] Satchin talks about the importance of darkness when it comes to sleep and our circadian rhythms. [00:48:42] Satchin’s 2017 paper in Aging Research Reviews titled “ Circadian rhythms, time-restricted feeding, and healthy aging.“ [00:51:59] Satchin’s recent paper in Cell Metabolism, “Time-Restricted Feeding Prevents Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Mice Lacking a Circadian Clock.” [01:00:19] The role of diet in people who lost weight during time-restricted feeding. [01:06:30] “My Circadian Clock,”an app Satchin and his lab at Salk Institute have developed. [01:20:02] Satchin discusses how he convinced his mother to try time-restricted eating. [01:25:32] What Satchin’s diet and eating window looks like on a typical day.  Show notes: [00:03:05] Satchin begins the interview talking about being raised in India and his parents’ expectation that he would become a doctor or engineer. [00:03:46] Satchin talks about his book “The Circadian Code,” which is dedicated to his maternal and paternal grandparents. He touches on how a rapidly evolving modern society disrupts the interconnectedness of our biological rhythms. [00:06:14] Satchin shares how when he was a junior in high school, he lost his father in an accident with a truck driver. [00:07:21] Dawn asks Satchin to talk about how going to agricultural school like his father did cemented Satchin’s interest in science. [00:08:44] Dawn asks how Satchin ended up with a research job at a flavor and fragrance manufacturer in India after finishing his master’s degree. [00:10:10] Satchin talks about what led him to Canada and eventually the U.S. [00:11:21] Ken asks Satchin why he decided to pursue at Ph.D. in plant circadian rhythm. [00:13:41] The circadian rhythm field primarily focuses on understanding the timing mechanism in biological systems like plants, fruit flies, mice and humans.  Satchin discusses how he took a different route and became interested in circadian rhythms and metabolism. [00:15:13] Dawn asks what it is like to work at the Salk institute, a place where Nobel laureates such as Francis Crick once ...