Can calorie restriction help you live longer and healthier?
Calorie restriction can significantly delay aging and the onset of disease, even in humans.
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Centuries ago, the average person did not live to be much older than 35 years. Of course, there were also people who lived far beyond the average life expectancy and reached the “old” age of 60 or even 65 years. And a very small percentage of people lived to extremely old age. But no one, not even the elders of the ancients, survived the age of 120 years.
Today, the average life expectancy of a person born in an industrialized country is just under 80 years. With therapies to prevent and combat aging, one can hope to live well beyond the average life expectancy in good health. But it is still the case that no one, not even the elders of the elderly, lives much older than 120 years.
Despite all the medical and scientific advances of the last century, the maximum human lifespan remains a fixed threshold that has not yet been exceeded. In the search for therapies and technologies that enable us to exceed this threshold, we have arrived at a very simple but already well-researched approach that can significantly extend the maximum lifespan of other mammal species — this is calorie restriction.
Eat less, live longer
Calorie restriction (CR), also known as calorie restriction, refers to the process of eating fewer calories than the body uses. It is considered a potential way to extend life expectancy and improve health, as it can lead to weight loss and may potentially improve certain health markers.
Animals that spend their lives on a very restricted (but highly nutritious) diet live longer — much longer — than animals that are allowed to eat as much as they want. This applies to every animal species on which CR was tested: mice, rats, dogs, and monkeys. On average, calorie restriction extends an animal's life expectancy by about a third.
The calorie restriction not only increases the average life expectancy, but also exceeds the maximum lifespan of individual species. The maximum life expectancy of mice and rats is normally around three years. However, mice on reduced-calorie diets can live four or five years — an astonishing 40 to 60 percent increase in maximum lifespan. Converted to humans, this would correspond to a maximum lifespan of more than 160 years.
Most importantly, calorie restriction significantly delays not only aging, but also the onset of diseases. This means that calorie restriction allows you to live additional healthy and active years. Very old CR mice are surprisingly physically active and mentally active, comparable to their much younger counterparts. They tend to remain disease-free until the end of their long life.
These results are of great importance. They suggest that CR can do more than just slow or delay the aging process. It may even be able to reverse and effectively rejuvenate some of the genetic changes associated with aging. The burning question for scientists is, of course, whether the life-extending and rejuvenating effects of calorie restriction also apply to people.
Prolonging life expectancy for humans?
There is no definite answer as to whether calorie restriction actually extends human life expectancy. The studies that have shown that calorie restriction can lead to longer lifespans in animals are little evidence that this is also the case for humans.
Until now, it has been extremely difficult to conduct a study that requires participants to reduce their calorie intake consistently and in a controlled manner. After all, few people want to follow a strict diet permanently. However, if science could gain insight into the biological basis of calorie restriction, it would likely be able to artificially activate molecular “programs” that increase life expectancy while switching off those that stand in the way of a healthy, long life.
That is exactly what CALERIE - Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy, the first controlled study of CR among average people, is trying to do. The study, led by scientists from Yale University and Pennington Biomedical Research, found that reducing calorie intake by just 14 percent over a period of two years provides numerous health benefits that are known to counteract aging.
The fountain of youth appeared to come from a protein at the interface between metabolism and immunity, which declined rapidly after dieting.
“Two years of modest calorie restriction reprogrammed the signaling pathways in fat cells that help regulate the body's anti-inflammatory responses and generate energy like mitochondria,” said study author Dr. Eric Ravussin.
“In other words, calorie restriction alters many of the metabolic and immune responses that promote life expectancy and health span. ”
However, it is important to note that weight loss is not always synonymous with healthy weight loss. If you're trying to lose weight and keep it off permanently, it's absolutely essential to follow a balanced diet and exercise regularly, rather than just relying on calorie restriction. It's also important to contact a qualified healthcare provider to ensure that weight loss happens in a healthy way and improves health over the long term.
References
Rhoads, T.W. & Anderson, R.M. (2022). Caloric restriction has a new player. Science, 375(6581), 620—621. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abn6576
Publiziert
22.7.2024
Kategorie
Health
Experte
Centuries ago, the average person did not live to be much older than 35 years. Of course, there were also people who lived far beyond the average life expectancy and reached the “old” age of 60 or even 65 years. And a very small percentage of people lived to extremely old age. But no one, not even the elders of the ancients, survived the age of 120 years.
Today, the average life expectancy of a person born in an industrialized country is just under 80 years. With therapies to prevent and combat aging, one can hope to live well beyond the average life expectancy in good health. But it is still the case that no one, not even the elders of the elderly, lives much older than 120 years.
Despite all the medical and scientific advances of the last century, the maximum human lifespan remains a fixed threshold that has not yet been exceeded. In the search for therapies and technologies that enable us to exceed this threshold, we have arrived at a very simple but already well-researched approach that can significantly extend the maximum lifespan of other mammal species — this is calorie restriction.
Eat less, live longer
Calorie restriction (CR), also known as calorie restriction, refers to the process of eating fewer calories than the body uses. It is considered a potential way to extend life expectancy and improve health, as it can lead to weight loss and may potentially improve certain health markers.
Animals that spend their lives on a very restricted (but highly nutritious) diet live longer — much longer — than animals that are allowed to eat as much as they want. This applies to every animal species on which CR was tested: mice, rats, dogs, and monkeys. On average, calorie restriction extends an animal's life expectancy by about a third.
The calorie restriction not only increases the average life expectancy, but also exceeds the maximum lifespan of individual species. The maximum life expectancy of mice and rats is normally around three years. However, mice on reduced-calorie diets can live four or five years — an astonishing 40 to 60 percent increase in maximum lifespan. Converted to humans, this would correspond to a maximum lifespan of more than 160 years.
Most importantly, calorie restriction significantly delays not only aging, but also the onset of diseases. This means that calorie restriction allows you to live additional healthy and active years. Very old CR mice are surprisingly physically active and mentally active, comparable to their much younger counterparts. They tend to remain disease-free until the end of their long life.
These results are of great importance. They suggest that CR can do more than just slow or delay the aging process. It may even be able to reverse and effectively rejuvenate some of the genetic changes associated with aging. The burning question for scientists is, of course, whether the life-extending and rejuvenating effects of calorie restriction also apply to people.
Prolonging life expectancy for humans?
There is no definite answer as to whether calorie restriction actually extends human life expectancy. The studies that have shown that calorie restriction can lead to longer lifespans in animals are little evidence that this is also the case for humans.
Until now, it has been extremely difficult to conduct a study that requires participants to reduce their calorie intake consistently and in a controlled manner. After all, few people want to follow a strict diet permanently. However, if science could gain insight into the biological basis of calorie restriction, it would likely be able to artificially activate molecular “programs” that increase life expectancy while switching off those that stand in the way of a healthy, long life.
That is exactly what CALERIE - Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy, the first controlled study of CR among average people, is trying to do. The study, led by scientists from Yale University and Pennington Biomedical Research, found that reducing calorie intake by just 14 percent over a period of two years provides numerous health benefits that are known to counteract aging.
The fountain of youth appeared to come from a protein at the interface between metabolism and immunity, which declined rapidly after dieting.
“Two years of modest calorie restriction reprogrammed the signaling pathways in fat cells that help regulate the body's anti-inflammatory responses and generate energy like mitochondria,” said study author Dr. Eric Ravussin.
“In other words, calorie restriction alters many of the metabolic and immune responses that promote life expectancy and health span. ”
However, it is important to note that weight loss is not always synonymous with healthy weight loss. If you're trying to lose weight and keep it off permanently, it's absolutely essential to follow a balanced diet and exercise regularly, rather than just relying on calorie restriction. It's also important to contact a qualified healthcare provider to ensure that weight loss happens in a healthy way and improves health over the long term.
Experte
Referenzen
Rhoads, T.W. & Anderson, R.M. (2022). Caloric restriction has a new player. Science, 375(6581), 620—621. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abn6576
Publiziert
22.7.2024
Kategorie
Health
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