High consumption of meats, eggs, fish and nuts at night bad for heart, finds study

Key findings of the study were:

• Upon analysis, the researchers found that feeding mice a BCAA-enriched meal at the end of the active period (i.e., last 4 h of the dark phase) rapidly increases cardiac protein synthesis and mass, as well as cardiomyocyte size. However, they noted that consumption of the same meal at the beginning of the active period (i.e., first 4 h of the dark phase) is without effect.
• They also noted that this effect was associated with greater BCAA-induced activation of mTOR signaling in the heart at the end of the active period.
• Upon pharmacological inhibition of mTOR (through rapamycin), they observed blocked BCAA-induced augmentation of cardiac mass and cardiomyocyte size.
• They further noted that genetic disruption of the cardiomyocyte circadian clock abolished time-of-day-dependent fluctuations in BCAA-responsiveness.
• They reported that repetitive consumption of BCAA-enriched meals at the end of the active period accelerated adverse cardiac remodeling and contractile dysfunction in mice subjected to transverse aortic constriction.

The authors concluded, " our data demonstrate that the timing of BCAA consumption has significant implications for cardiac health and disease."

For further information:

https://www.jmcc-online.com/article/S0022-2828(21)00083-3/fulltext