The modern notion that it is unhealthy not to eat late -- put about by diet gurus who have no knowledge of the critical role of cerebral energy provision during the nocturnal fast -- has not been challenged by the health profession.

For example, McInnes said, the last meal of the day in hospitals is 6pm. This results in compromised recovery physiology in every hospital bed in the land. Sleep is a very high-energy physiological excursion, and that energy for provision of cerebral energy must be sourced from the liver (the brain carries only 30 seconds of energy reserve in astroglial cells) during the overnight fast.

Thus, most of the western population goes to bed with a depleted liver, resulting in chronic nocturnal metabolic stress. McInnes said the effect of this on neural processing, memory and learning is devastating, which may be observed in the accelerating increase of all types of dementias, including Alzheimer's disease.

Furthermore, he said, it is now widely recognised that poor-quality sleep drives up the orexigenic (appetite-increasing) hormones the following day, and after missing breakfast, this level increases such that people make poor food choices, leading to increased calorie ingestion.

Increased consumption of high-calorie foods results in elevated blood glucose (hyperglycemia), which, in turn, results in raised insulin (hyperinsulinemia). The problem is that hyperinsulinemia prevents glucose uptake into the brain, resulting in chronic cerebral hunger - the driving force behind obesity.

The signal for this hunger is the amino acid glutamate. This signal activates the adrenal hormones, further increasing the orexigenic hormones, and the cycle repeats. This toxic metabolic cycle is indifferent to the quantity of food consumed; the chronic insulin simply adds to ongoing cerebral hunger and drives us to make poor food choices.

Glutamate is recognized as the most toxic transmitter in the human brain. One of the most important Alzheimer's drugs is a glutamate antagonist.

The ubiquitous morning coffee/sugar energy fix represents the "caffeination" of modern urban culture; it's a failed strategy to relieve nocturnal metabolic stress and the cerebral energy deficit. It simply results in increased adrenal stress (coffee) and higher insulin (sugar) levels, said McInnes.

Furthermore, excess glucose is converted to fat, and fats may not provision cerebral energy. McInnes noted that people may carry several-hundred pounds of fat while not one ounce may be used in the brain.

"Thus, it becomes a 24-hour fast/feed cycle that results in increased weight gain and causes chronic cerebral hunger - essentially a form of cerebral diabetes. This applies equally to children as to adults, with major negative impacts on memory, learning and cognition," he said.

According to McInnes, the relationship between the energy or fuel status of the liver and the quality and duration of restorative sleep is one of the most neglected areas of study in human physiology. He said chronic nocturnal metabolic stress can be easily prevented by simply providing adequate fuel for the liver and, therefore, the brain during the nocturnal fast.

After an early evening meal, the liver may be selectively replenished by consuming an ounce or two of quality honey. This is, of course, counterintuitive, but science is not intuitive, McInnes said.

An ounce or two of honey prior to sleep will activate the honey/insulin/melatonin cycle, promote quality sleep and recovery physiology and reduce the production and release of the adrenal (stress) hormones, McInnes noted.

"Modern metropolitan humans are losing their minds simply because we are failing to provision cerebral energy, in particular during the hours of the nocturnal fast. One of the most important of the multiple functions of sleep is to recalibrate energy pathways and return the body to a state of energy homeostasis, a feat impossible without provision of cerebral energy via the liver every night in life," said McInnes.

That such a simple solution may be found for such a major problem may seem surprising, but energy is the basis of all life, and the human brain, cell for cell, is the most energy-consuming organ in any species known to date, he said.

Here's the point

THE history of honey use and production is long and varied. In many cultures, honey has had uses beyond as a food. In fact, for years, some cultures believed honey had many practical health uses. It was used as an ointment for rashes and burns and to help soothe sore throats when no other medicinal treatments were available.

Current research out of the UK indicates honey may also play a role in preserving human memory by serving as a fuel source for the brain during times of rest, or noctural fasting, when other food sources are unavailable.

The relationship between the energy or fuel status of the liver and the quality and duration of restorative sleep is thought to be one of the most neglected areas of study in human physiology. Chronic nocturnal metabolic stress is now thought to be easily prevented by simply providing adequate fuel for the liver and, hence, the brain during the nocturnal fast. After an early evening meal, the liver may be selectively replenished prior to sleep by taking an ounce or two of quality honey.

* For more information on honey and other foods, visit www.FeedstuffsFoodLink.com