Does Fasting Really Help Prevent Jet Lag?
There are many proposed ways to prevent jet lag. Among the suggestions are things like naturally changing your circadian rhythm clock over a few weeks by going to bed later or earlier than you would. In 2008, the idea of fasting to prevent jet lag was proposed, but don’t commit to starving yourself just yet. The idea that fasting may prevent jet lag is based on studies done on mice. A study at Harvard Medical School does suggest we do have a second clock, one based on our waking to eat when there is normally the highest possibility of getting food. Scientists used mice which were genetically engineered to lack the gene responsible for governing circadian rhythm, and than gave them a gene in the form of a virus that knocked out their ability to use their “second” clock or food clock. Mice who received this extra gene would simply sleep through any possibility of getting a meal, and had to be woken and fed.
