Time travel that lets you zip ahead 1,000 years to see what's going to happen in the future is a concept that's fascinated everyone from H.G. Wells, who wrote "The Time Machine" in 1895, to Stephen Hawking, who wrote about it in his posthumously published book, "Brief Answers to the Big Questions."

But it's only recently that people have been talking about the far-reaching possibilities of time restriction — as in time-restricted eating (TRE).

Dr. Mike set out the guidelines for TRE in his book "What to Eat When": Eat when the sun is up, have most calories before 3 p.m., and confine eating to nine to 12 hours a day.

A new study on mice now delves into differences in TRE's benefits for males and females (prior lab studies were only of male mice).

In a study for published by the journal Cell Reports, researchers found that TRE has significant benefits for people young and old, male and female. The benefits include protection against fatty liver disease, prediabetes and diabetes, and infectious diseases and sepsis, which is a life-threatening response to infection.

For males, TRE also helps with managing weight, preserving and adding muscle mass, and muscle performance, no matter what their age.

For women to gain the weight-managing benefits of TRE, they should try adding another 30 minutes of exercise or strength training five days a week.  

If you're interested in trying TRE, remember time-restricted doesn't mean that what you eat is unrestricted. It's still essential to stick with a plant-based diet; animal protein as a side, not an entree; and healthy fats from olive oil, avocados, walnuts, and salmon.