Traditional Chinese medicine has always been part of my story. I come from the Chao family (巢), one of the four prominent Menghe Chinese Medicine lineages with a history spanning over 800 years—where healing revolves around restoring balance and harmony. My journey into medicine began even before formal training. At just 11 years old, I was already practicing acupuncture, responding to requests from neighbors who trusted me to help with their ailments.
Cover of the book '孟河四家医集' (Menghe Four Family Medical Anthology), featuring portraits of leading doctors from each of the four prominent families of Menghe Chinese Medicine. The cover symbolizes the rich heritage and contributions of the Chao (巢) family and other renowned families to traditional Chinese medicine.
I still vividly remember my first patient—Aunty Liu, my next-door neighbor—who came to me seeking relief from constipation. I used a single acupuncture point, Yang Lao (SI6), with great success, which cemented my fascination with the art and science of healing.
After beginning my formal medical career as a surgeon in Beijing, I moved to Edinburgh, eventually earning my PhD in medicine. Throughout my journey, I have continued to merge the best of Eastern wisdom with Western science, bringing ancient healing traditions into a modern medical context.
Here I am operating with Consultant Mr. J Thomson at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary—a moment that reflects my commitment to uniting these two worlds.
But my journey wasn’t confined to operating rooms and lecture halls. At 43, a supervisor told me, “I can’t teach you because you’re too old.” I pressed on anyway, completed my PhD, and conceived our daughter naturally—despite the odds. Just look at us here, when she was only seven. Time flew by in the blink of an eye, but the principles behind my Sunrise-Sunset Diet kept me energized and strong at every turn.
Years later, when I was nearly seventy, another challenge surfaced: my first driving instructor refused to teach me, saying I was too old. Determined as ever, I found a new instructor, passed on my first try, and celebrated with my husband and daughter, who were over the moon. Sometimes you just can’t take “no” for an answer.
Of course, the Sunrise-Sunset Diet isn’t just about defying the naysayers. It’s about aligning your meals with your natural circadian rhythm and embracing nutrient-rich, diverse foods—ideals that flow straight from my family’s centuries-old TCM roots. I’ve even demonstrated acupuncture for Lord Hague at a busy NHS surgery, showing how ancient techniques can thrive alongside modern healthcare.
During my PhD, I studied glycolysis—how the body breaks down carbohydrates for energy—and its impact on heart health under oxygen-deprived conditions. This research gave me insight into how the body processes nutrients and uses energy, forming the cornerstone of the Sunrise-Sunset Diet. By aligning meals with natural metabolic rhythms, this diet optimizes energy and repair for a healthier, more balanced life.
Together, these experiences shaped the Sunrise-Sunset Diet—a straightforward, adaptable approach that’s helped countless individuals improve fertility, boost longevity, and live with more vitality. If you, too, crave a sustainable way to feel your best, keep reading. There’s no deadline on health and happiness—only an ongoing journey to discover how amazing life can be when we nourish ourselves from dawn to dusk.
I couldn’t have achieved all of this without my wonderful Scottish husband, who has always been my rock—responsible, resilient, and full of heart. His kindness, and unwavering support have carried me through my PhD, raising our daughter, and even my driving lessons later in life.
These moments remind me that it’s never too late to reclaim your health, strength, and confidence. Whether it’s fertility, longevity, or achieving milestones others thought impossible, the Sunrise-Sunset Diet has been my foundation for living a life full of energy and vitality—and showing my family what’s possible.
The Sunrise-Sunset Diet works by timing meals to align with your body’s natural circadian rhythm while emphasizing whole, diverse, and nutrient-rich foods. Unlike restrictive or fad diets, it’s simple, sustainable, and adaptable to cultural or personal needs. This unique approach doesn’t just improve eating habits—it delivers real results, from restoring fertility to enhancing long-term health, vitality, and overall well-being.
Now, after years of refining it through real-world practice, I’m excited to share this proven method with you.
Introduction to the Sunrise-Sunset Diet
1. Foundations from the Huangdi Neijing (黄帝内经)
The Huangdi Neijing, the first Chinese medicine textbook written over two and a half thousand years ago, presents timeless dietary principles that still resonate today:
五谷为养 (Wu gu wei yang): Grains are the foundation of nourishment, representing seeds of life packed with essential nutrients.
五畜为益 (Wu chu wei yi): Animal proteins enhance health, but balance and moderation are key.
五果为助 (Wu guo wei zhu): Fruits serve as supportive elements, offering hydration and essential vitamins.
五菜为充 (Wu cai wei zhong): Vegetables balance the diet, adding fiber and complementing other nutrients.
These principles outline not only what to eat but also how much of each, mirroring the priorities of the modern food pyramid. It’s remarkable how ancient wisdom, focusing on balance and sustainability, continues to be validated by contemporary science.
2. Proportion and Priority.
The Huangdi Neijing’s dietary priorities align seamlessly with modern nutritional science:
五谷 (Grains): The primary source of nourishment, forming the base of vitality—like eating seeds instead of the plant.
五畜 (Animal proteins): Boosts strength and energy but should be consumed sparingly.
五果 (Fruits): Provides hydration and natural sugars, supplementing energy without overwhelming the body.
五菜 (Vegetables): Adds balance, fiber, and lightness to the diet.
Choosing nutrient-dense staples, like an egg over a chicken, reflects this ancient philosophy. Grains, seeds, and nutrient-rich foods remain the cornerstone of health—a principle shared by both traditional Chinese dietary guidelines and the modern food pyramid.
3. Living in Harmony with Nature (天人合一)
The Sunrise-Sunset Diet embraces the concept of 天人合一 (Tian ren he yi), which means living in harmony with nature by aligning human habits with the rhythms of the world:
Local Foods: Supporting the body with ingredients grown in your environment.
Seasonal Eating: Consuming foods that align with nature’s cycles.
Whole Foods: Minimizing processed foods to prioritize natural nourishment.
By following the principle of 天人合一, the Sunrise-Sunset Diet encourages eating with the seasons and respecting the rhythms of nature. This not only nourishes your body but also fosters harmony with the world around you, creating a sustainable and intuitive way to thrive.
4. Modern Science Validates Ancient Wisdom
Modern diets, such as carnivore, keto, vegan, and vegetarian, often seem to contradict one another. Each diet champions a different perspective, emphasizing specific benefits—whether it’s animal proteins, healthy fats, or plant-based nutrients. To many, this appears to create conflict, as though one diet must disprove another. But if we view these approaches through the lens of Chinese medicine's holistic philosophy, they begin to harmonize rather than oppose each other.
In Chinese medicine, the focus is not on isolating a single factor but on understanding the whole system. It’s like stepping back to see the entire stage of a theater production rather than zooming in on a single actor’s nose. Western science excels at analyzing details—breaking complex problems into individual parts and solving them piece by piece, like building blocks. This logical, reductionist approach drives incredible discoveries, such as uncovering metabolic pathways like glycolysis and beta-oxidation.
Chinese philosophy, on the other hand, teaches us to see the bigger picture. It views the body as an interconnected whole, where balance and harmony dictate health. When applied to nutrition, this holistic thinking encourages us to combine the strengths of different approaches, integrating them into a system that supports the body as a whole, rather than focusing narrowly on one aspect.
The Huangdi Neijing—the foundation of Chinese medicine—perfectly illustrates this principle. It teaches that grains nourish, proteins enhance, fruits support, and vegetables balance. These timeless guidelines mirror the benefits highlighted by modern diets, showing us that each food group has its own role in sustaining vitality. What seems like conflict between diets is actually complementary when viewed holistically.
The Sunrise-Sunset Diet is built on this philosophy. It acknowledges the strengths of modern science while embracing the interconnected wisdom of ancient traditions. By timing your meals to align with the body’s natural rhythms and metabolic processes, such as glycolysis and beta-oxidation, this diet allows you to reap the benefits of diverse dietary philosophies without their extremes.
Applying the Principles: Simple Morning and Evening Guidelines:
To help you apply these principles, here’s a simplified guide to structuring your meals:
1. Breakfast: Vegan or Vegetarian Start, plant / lean protein. 7am-9am
To help you apply these principles, here’s a simplified guide to structuring your meals:
(Vegan: A diet free of all animal products. Vegetarian: A diet excluding meat but may include eggs and dairy.)
Start your day with a vegan or vegetarian meal that prioritizes nutrient-dense, plant-based options rich in carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats.
For example:
Carbohydrates: Choose complex carbohydrates in their original form, such as whole grains like oatmeal, quinoa, or whole-grain toast, as well as fruits. A core principle of the Sunrise-Sunset Diet is to avoid combining carbohydrates with unhealthy fats to prevent the storage of bad fats.
Protein: Incorporate lean options such as eggs, fish, tofu, or low-fat Greek yogurt.
Healthy Fats: Include good fats like avocado, nuts, or seeds, which provide Omega-3 and other essential nutrients.
Carbohydrates in breakfast not only provide energy but also raise insulin levels, which enhances fat absorption. This ensures that healthy fats, like Omega-3s, are stored effectively to support tissue repair and overall health. Since the body prioritizes burning carbohydrates over fat for energy, consuming carbohydrates in the morning allows healthy fats to be stored rather than burned, maximizing their long-term benefits for tissue repair and overall health.
Carbohydrates in the morning also take advantage of higher insulin sensitivity and help replenish energy stores after overnight fasting, providing a quick and efficient source of energy to start the day. Including protein is equally important for maintaining muscle health and promoting satiety. A balanced breakfast with both carbohydrates and protein helps kickstart your metabolism and energy levels effectively.
The 7 to 9 AM breakfast timing isn’t just a random suggestion—it’s a harmonious blend of ancient wisdom and modern science. According to Chinese medicine, this time aligns with the peak activity of the stomach channel, making digestion most efficient. Meanwhile, Western research backs this up, highlighting that our bodies are more insulin-sensitive in the morning. This means it’s the perfect window to enjoy carbohydrates, promoting better blood sugar control and sustained energy throughout the day. Skipping breakfast? Modern studies show it’s linked to increased risks of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Embracing this holistic approach bridges the gap between age-old traditions and contemporary science, setting you up for a healthier, balanced life. Why not make the most of your morning with a nourishing breakfast that’s perfectly timed for your body?
2. Lunch: Choose Your Path – Vegan, Vegetarian, Carnivore, Ketogenic or Mediterranean diet
At lunch, select from vegan, vegetarian, carnivore, or keto meals based on your personal preference or dietary goals. If your aim is weight loss, consider low-carb options or lean towards carnivore meals more frequently. The key principle here is to avoid mixing carbohydrates with animal proteins or fats, ensuring your meal aligns with the core Sunrise-Sunset Diet principles.
Giving yourself the choice of vegan, carnivore, or Mediterranean-style lunches emphasizes healthy eating based on individual needs. The body often signals what it requires, as seen in animal studies where preferences shift based on prior intake. The key is to maintain a balanced and nutritious diet while listening to your body's cues. This way, you can support your health by providing what your body needs at the right time.
3. Dinner: Carnivore or Ketogenic for Optimal Recovery (At Least 3 Hours Before Sleep)
The evening meal in the Sunrise-Sunset Diet emphasizes high-quality proteins and fats to support tissue repair and metabolic balance as your body transitions into its overnight recovery mode. By minimizing carbohydrates in the evening, you not only align with your body’s circadian rhythm but also optimize metabolic health for better energy regulation.
Why Choose Carnivore or Ketogenic for Evening Meals?
A carnivore or ketogenic dinner offers distinct advantages by focusing on nutrient-dense foods while minimizing the impact of anti-nutrients like oxalates, phytates, and lectins. Found in vegetables, grains, and legumes, these compounds can bind to essential minerals such as iron, zinc, and magnesium, hindering their absorption.
By prioritizing meat-based meals in the evening, you can:
Maximize Nutrient Absorption: Meat provides highly bioavailable minerals without interference from anti-nutrients, ensuring your body gets the nutrients it needs.
Simplify Digestion: Separating meat and vegetables avoids nutrient competition, allowing your body to process and absorb food more efficiently.
Aligning Dinner with Circadian Rhythms
Another key reason for choosing a protein-rich, carnivore-style dinner is to take advantage of your body’s natural circadian rhythm. Between 2–8 p.m., your muscle activity peaks, creating an ideal window for muscle protein synthesis. A high-quality protein meal during this time not only aids tissue repair and recovery but also ensures that your muscles utilize dietary protein more efficiently after a day of activity. By syncing your dinner with your body’s rhythm, you can enhance recovery and overall health effortlessly.
Practical Tips for Meal Timing and Preparation
Separate Meat and Vegetables: To avoid nutrient competition and ensure maximum absorption, eat meat and vegetables at least 1–2 hours apart.
Reduce Anti-Nutrients in Vegetables: If you include vegetables, choose methods like boiling, steaming, or soaking to reduce anti-nutrient levels and boost nutrient availability.
For Vegetarians
If you prefer a plant-based ketogenic approach, focus on low-anti-nutrient vegetables such as zucchini, mushrooms, and carrots. These options are easier to digest and contain fewer anti-nutrients, making them suitable for evening meals.
The Relationship Between Carbs and Fat: Why Timing Matters
When you eat carbs and fat together, your body stores the fat because insulin is high, and it can’t tell whether the fat is good or bad. That’s why you should eat good fats, like omega-3s or coconut oil, with carbs earlier in the day, so they get absorbed and used for tissue repair.
In the evening, when you’re eating a low-carb meal, your body won’t store the fat—it will burn it for energy if body needs it, no matter whether it’s good or bad fat. So in low-carb situations, you don’t need special fats like omega-3s; your body will just use what’s available as fuel.
By following these guidelines, your evening meals will not only align with your biological clock but also set the stage for optimal recovery and long-term metabolic health.
Refining Modern Dietary Approaches with the Sunrise-Sunset Diet
This approach doesn’t just change how you eat—it transforms how you think about food and health. It invites you to step back, look at the entire stage, and understand how the pieces fit together. By understanding the principles of the Sunrise-Sunset Diet, you can refine and elevate your chosen dietary approach—becoming a better vegan, a more balanced vegetarian, or even a more efficient keto or carnivore eater.
Here’s how the Sunrise-Sunset Diet enhances specific approaches:
Vegans and Vegetarians: By timing plant-based meals in the morning when the body is naturally aligned with glycolysis, you can optimize energy use and nutrient absorption, making your diet more effective.
Keto and Carnivore Enthusiasts: Aligning fat and protein intake with the body’s evening rhythms supports better fat metabolism and tissue repair, while also balancing digestion over time.
Mediterranean Diet: The separation of carbs, fats, and proteins across meals harmonizes beautifully with this diverse and balanced dietary approach, making it even more effective.
The Sunrise-Sunset Diet doesn’t aim to replace or challenge your preferences but provides a framework to optimize and harmonize your nutrition, helping you achieve your best health and balance.
To make these principles easy to remember, here’s a simple rhyme:
🌞Morning carbs, midday choice,
🌙Evening protein, body's voice.
The Key Unique Benefits of the Sunrise-Sunset Diet
By embracing these principles, the Sunrise-Sunset Diet stands out as a powerful and balanced approach to eating:
Boosts Metabolism
Encourages efficient energy use and minimizes fat storage.
Enhances Nutrient Absorption
Avoids anti-nutrient interference for better digestion and uptake of essential minerals.
Optimizes Energy Balance
Separates fats and carbs while aligning meals with your body’s natural energy cycles.
Supports Circadian Health
Matches your body’s rhythm to improve blood sugar control, digestion, and overall wellness.
Improves Hormonal Balance
Aligning meal timing with circadian rhythms supports the natural release of hormones like insulin, leptin, and cortisol, reducing stress and enhancing fat metabolism.
Reduces Inflammation
Eating within specific time frames reduces oxidative stress and inflammation, promoting cellular repair and long-term health.
Promotes Better Sleep
Avoiding late-night eating improves melatonin production and deepens restorative sleep, which is crucial for physical and mental recovery.
Encourages Mindful Eating
Structured meal times foster a deeper connection with hunger and satiety cues, helping prevent overeating.
Improves Gut Health
Syncing with your digestive clock enhances gut motility, fosters a balanced microbiome, and reduces risks of gastrointestinal issues like bloating and constipation.
Aids in Weight Management
By supporting metabolic efficiency and reducing fat storage, the diet helps maintain a healthy weight over the long term.
Boosts Cognitive Performance
Stable blood sugar levels and optimized nutrient timing improve mental clarity, focus, and memory throughout the day.
Prevents Chronic Disease
By reducing blood sugar spikes, insulin resistance, and inflammation, this approach lowers the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions.
Encourages Longevity
Mimicking fasting cycles and aligning with circadian health taps into autophagy and other anti-aging mechanisms, promoting cellular regeneration and vitality.
Supports Athletic Performance
Proper timing of carbs and proteins fuels workouts, aids recovery, and improves muscle synthesis, making it ideal for active individuals.
Further Guidelines, Adaptations, and Personalization
Chinese medicine uses yin-yang philosophy to view the body holistically, emphasizing its dynamic balance and harmony. Yin and yang represent complementary forces that influence each other—neither is static. When one grows stronger, the other adjusts to maintain balance. It’s not about conflict, but about interdependence and finding equilibrium.
This concept ties beautifully to individual variation:
Some people may have stronger “yang” qualities—more active or robust metabolisms—while others may lean towards “yin,” needing more nourishment and rest.
The key is not treating everyone the same but understanding where they’re starting from and helping them achieve their personal balance.
The Sunrise-Sunset Diet embodies this principle, helping you adapt to your unique needs and find the right balance for your body and life. Here are four key guidelines to help you adapt this diet to your individual circumstances:
Tailored to Individual Needs
Recognize that every person is unique. Factors like age, gender, metabolism, and health status influence dietary needs. For instance:
Pregnant women may need additional nutrients to support both themselves and their growing baby.
Athletes might require extra protein and carbohydrates around their training schedules to support recovery and performance.
Older adults may need to prioritize protein intake to maintain muscle mass and strength.
Adaptation for Special Lifestyles
The Sunrise-Sunset Diet is flexible enough to adapt to diverse lifestyles, such as:
Night shift workers, who can align their meals with their work hours to maintain energy and balance.
Religious or cultural dietary practices, where adjustments can ensure harmony between the diet and personal beliefs.
Busy individuals, who can focus on the core principles without being bogged down by strict rules.
Recognition of Unique Circumstances
While the diet is universally adaptable, some individuals may need guidance for optimal results. Whether due to medical conditions or specific genetic traits, professional advice can help fine-tune the diet for your needs. Listening to your body’s signals is key: if something feels off, consult a healthcare professional to adjust your approach.
Global Applications with Ancient Wisdom
This diet is a universal philosophy, transcending boundaries of culture, lifestyle, or geography. It integrates ancient Chinese wisdom, such as eating local and seasonal foods, with modern scientific understanding of circadian rhythms and nutrient metabolism.
The Sunrise-Sunset Diet is both unique and inclusive. Its foundation in ancient Chinese philosophy, coupled with modern scientific insights, makes it adaptable to a wide range of individual lifestyles, health conditions, and cultural practices. Whether you’re looking to improve fertility, enhance longevity, or manage specific health concerns, this diet offers a flexible framework that respects your body’s natural rhythms and promotes overall well-being.
For those seeking further resources or personalized guidance, visit my website or book an appointment to explore tailored strategies for your unique needs.
What’s Next?
Now that you’ve been introduced to the Sunrise-Sunset Diet and its practical applications, you might be wondering: How can you maximize its benefits in your daily life? In the next section (Part 2) of the series, we’ll expand on the 14 Key Benefits of this approach and provide even more practical tips to help you implement the diet effectively and sustainably. Stay tuned!
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Appendix:
Behind the Scenes: The Story of the Sunrise-Sunset Diet
The Sunrise-Sunset Diet wasn’t born in a laboratory or from a single "aha" moment. It emerged like a patchwork quilt—stitched together from curiosity, experience, and the desire to find a lasting solution to healthy eating. Over the years, I experimented with countless diets: vegan, ketogenic, carnivore, intermittent fasting, antihistamine, autoimmune protocol, the blood type diet—you name it, I probably tried it. Each brought a spark of promise but often fizzled out in practicality. Some left me energized, while others left me exhausted after just one day.
The turning point came in an unlikely place: a bustling online chat group of over five hundred medical professionals—professors, doctors, and health experts who had walked the same experimental road. The group felt like a modern-day version of the ancient scholars gathering to debate philosophies, except these were highly trained scientists, armed with both clinical knowledge and personal experiences of various diets.
What struck me wasn’t their expertise, but their diversity of opinions. Like chefs in a culinary contest, each had a favorite “recipe” they swore by:
Some praised the ketogenic diet, applauding its metabolic benefits but warning that it could disrupt women’s hormones over time.
Others sang the virtues of veganism, emphasizing its potential for cleansing and energy but admitting that nutritional deficiencies could creep in like an uninvited guest.
Then there were the carnivore advocates, who claimed their all-meat diet eliminated the digestive drama caused by plant-based anti-nutrients.
The debates were as lively as a symphony orchestra tuning up—noisy, chaotic, but strangely harmonious. And then it struck me: they were all right, but only in certain contexts. This realization was like finding the missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle—what if these diets weren’t in competition? What if they were complementary?
The Lightbulb Moment: Eating in Harmony with Time
I began to notice a common thread in these diets:
Vegan diets avoid animal products, reducing anti-nutrient interactions.
Ketogenic diets caution against mixing carbs and fats to maximize metabolic efficiency.
Carnivore diets avoid plants entirely to eliminate anti-nutrient effects.
The essence wasn’t that these diets were opposites—it was that they worked best when you kept like with like. This inspired the idea of eating the “same side of the plate” at different times of the day.
Morning: A plant-focused meal to leverage the body’s ability to handle carbohydrates efficiently, inspired by vegan principles.
Evening: An animal-based meal centered on protein and fat, drawing from ketogenic and carnivore diets.
This timing wasn’t just practical; it aligned beautifully with the body’s circadian rhythms, like matching the tide to the moon. By eating this way, the Sunrise-Sunset Diet offers the best of all worlds without the downsides, promoting glucose control, metabolic balance, and overall health.
Why the Sunrise-Sunset Diet Stands Out
Specialized diets like keto, carnivore, or veganism are like high-performance sports cars—they deliver incredible results but require careful handling. For many, they demand extensive planning, supplementation, or training to avoid potential pitfalls. While they excel at specific goals, they can feel restrictive or impractical for everyday life.
The Sunrise-Sunset Diet, on the other hand, is more like an all-terrain vehicle—it adapts to your lifestyle, no matter where the road takes you. By blending the strengths of specialized diets and avoiding their weaknesses, it offers a balanced, sustainable approach that anyone can follow.
Here’s what makes it special:
Accessible and Sustainable: You don’t need to be a nutrition expert or track every bite. It’s easy to follow and fits seamlessly into daily life.
Balanced and Flexible: It embraces variety, ensuring all your nutritional needs are met naturally.
Effortlessly Effective: It works with your body’s natural rhythms, not against them, promoting long-term health without extremes.
A Balanced Approach to Eating
Think of the Sunrise-Sunset Diet as a bridge—a connection between ancient wisdom and modern science, and between restrictive diets and real-life practicality. Here’s why it works:
Combines Variety and Precision
Balances the sustainability of whole-food diets with the targeted focus of specialized approaches like vegan, keto, or carnivore.
No Demonizing or Eliminating Foods
Instead of banning entire food groups, it’s about eating the right foods at the right time to optimize their benefits.
Achieves Yin-Yang Balance
Integrates the best of vegan, keto, and carnivore principles, with each complementing and compensating for the other’s downsides.
Creates a holistic balance that meets your body’s needs and restores harmony from within.
Simple, Practical, and Sustainable
Unlike restrictive diets that feel like walking a tightrope, the Sunrise-Sunset Diet is like a wide, welcoming path—easy to follow and designed for long-term success.
From Experiment to Lifestyle
When I first developed this diet, it started as a personal experiment—a way to test how my body responded to the timing and structure of meals. I wasn’t expecting much beyond my own curiosity. But then, something remarkable happened. When I shared it with patients, the results spoke louder than I ever could.
They told me they felt lighter, more energetic, and more balanced—like they had finally found an approach that worked with their bodies, not against them. And perhaps most importantly, they all agreed: it was easy to follow.
Just like Chinese medicine isn’t merely a system of treatments but a holistic philosophy of life, the Sunrise-Sunset Diet isn’t just about what’s on your plate—it’s a way to rethink food and health altogether.
It bridges the gap between ancient wisdom, modern science, and practical experience, offering a balanced, sustainable approach that aligns with your body’s natural rhythms. With this diet, you don’t just eat—you harmonize with your body, empowering yourself to live healthier every single day.
Key Three Principles of the Sunrise-Sunset Diet: Summary
1. Separation of Carbs and "Bad" Fats
Carbs are metabolized through glycolysis (quick energy from glucose), while saturated fats are metabolized through beta-oxidation (fat breakdown).
When consumed together, the body prioritizes glycolysis, leading to fat storage.
How the Diet Solves This:
Carbs (and plant proteins) are eaten with plant fats in the morning.
Animal fats (and animal proteins) are eaten without carbs in the evening.
This separation minimizes fat storage and optimizes energy metabolism.
2. Avoiding Anti-Nutrient Effects
Anti-nutrients in plants (e.g., phytic acid, oxalates, lectins) can interfere with nutrient absorption.
How the Diet Solves This:
By separating plant-based meals from animal-based meals, the diet ensures better nutrient absorption and reduces digestive strain.
3. Aligning Meals with the Circadian Rhythm
Morning: High cortisol levels and insulin sensitivity make this the best time for carbs, which replenish energy and stabilize blood sugar. It’s also the optimal time to enjoy fruits, as fructose is efficiently used to replenish glycogen stores, reducing the risk of fatty liver.
Evening: Lower glucose tolerance makes protein and fat ideal, avoiding blood sugar spikes and supporting muscle repair. By having your last carb-containing meal at lunch and consuming only protein and fat in the evening, you initiate a fasting period of over 16 hours without carbs starting after breakfast or lunch. This approach aligns with intermittent fasting principles, allowing the body to rest, enhance fat burning, and optimize metabolic health overnight.
This alignment with the body’s natural rhythm enhances energy balance, blood sugar stability, and metabolic health.
Why Sustainable Eating Matters
The Sunrise-Sunset Diet is built on the concept of sustainable eating. By timing meals according to the body’s natural rhythm, it promotes:
Better digestion
Balanced energy levels
Long-term metabolic health
This approach avoids extreme restrictions and emphasizes whole, nutrient-dense foods, making it adaptable to a variety of lifestyles.
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The Sunrise-Sunset Diet:
🌞Morning carbs, midday choice,
🌙Evening protein, body's voice.
Thank You for Exploring the Sunrise-Sunset Diet
Thank you for taking the time to explore the Sunrise-Sunset Diet. Your interest in this approach to healthier and more balanced eating means so much to me.
This concludes Part 1 of the series, but it’s just the beginning of the journey! In Part 2, we’ll dive deeper into the 14 Key Benefits of the diet and provide more practical tips to help you seamlessly incorporate it into your daily life.
Have thoughts or questions? I’d love to hear from you! Share your feedback, ask your questions, and let’s continue the conversation together.
Stay tuned—there’s so much more to come!
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