Calorie restriction & anti-aging

Better Nutrition, July, 2004

A stringent, calorie-restricted (CR) diet dramatically reduces the risk of heart disease, a new study shows.

Washington University scientists examined people who limited their calorie intake and avoided processed foods for an average of 6 years. Compared to age-matched individuals on typical American diets, the CR group was found to have the health of people decades younger.

* The CR group's total cholesterol levels were quite low. High-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good" cholesterol, was high. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, was extremely low. So were triglyceride readings.

* The CR group--with an average age of 50--had blood pressure readings similar to those of the average 10-year-old, low in both the upper and lower numbers.

* Fasting levels of insulin and glucose were markedly low.

* CR subjects also showed low readings of C-reactive protein (CRP). High CRP is an indication of inflammation, which is linked to heart disease.

Research over 6 decades has consistently shown that CR increases the natural lifespan of all animal species tested so far--from mice and rats to primates such as apes and even humans--by about 30 percent. By consuming small amounts of nutrient-dense foods and taking supplements, CR followers try to take in 10-25 percent fewer calories than average.

The study, which was published in the April 19, 2004 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, concluded: "Based on a range of risk factors, it appears that long-term CR has a powerful protective effect against atherosclerosis."