Cutting calories and delaying meals could be a successful strategy to extend your life, although there are certain conditions and limitations.
A large new US study of nearly 1,000 mice suggests that metabolic changes and reduced body mass are side effects of dietary restriction that could come at a health cost for some people. Repeated studies have consistently shown that various animals, from monkeys to fruit flies, mice and nematodes, can extend their lives when their food intake is reduced.
However, due to the ethics and challenges of clinical research, it is difficult to say whether a reduced food intake could also extend people’s lives.
Here’s how you can extend your life through diet!
Observational investigations using less extreme caloric restriction, such as intermittent fasting, suggest that there are benefits to dietary restriction that may reduce the risk of premature death.
Health studies also point to weight loss, reduced body fat and cardiometabolic risks, which can significantly contribute to life extension. But because of the small number of participants and the limited study periods, it is hard to say whether these changes are directly responsible for the life extension.
The researchers evaluated the effects of gradual caloric restriction and intermittent fasting in 960 genetically different female mice, confirming the findings of other previous studies: keeping the body slightly hungry from time to time can lead to a longer life.
Mice that underwent the greatest calorie reduction lost, on average, nearly a quarter of their 6-month-old weight by 18 months, while mice on a normal diet gained just over a quarter from their original weight, writes Science Alert.
Why is this method not suitable for everyone?
It is noteworthy that mice subjected to severe calorie restriction lived, on average, about 9 months longer than those on a normal diet, an increase of more than a third. What the means don’t show is the variation within each group of mice on controlled diets. Although the lifespan of severely restricted mice was significantly extended, some mice died at different ages, as if negative forces canceled out the benefits of caloric restriction.
In fact, in the calorie-restricted groups, the mice that managed to maintain a higher weight lived longer, suggesting that metabolic regulation is probably not the explanation for why they can extend their lives.
It is genetics that “decides” whether or not you can extend your life through diet
Genetics, the study authors argue, had a much larger role in determining the lifespan of the mice. Those who maintained their weight despite the stress and those with a higher proportion of white blood cells, as well as less variation in red blood cell size, were more likely to survive.
In short, a hardy and well-equipped mouse was more likely to cope with life’s pressures and live longer.
The question of why regular fasting or calorie restriction helped some mice live longer remains open. Undoubtedly, it is a complex combination of factors, apparently less related to weight loss and metabolism than originally thought.
Although there are differences between the physiology of mice and humans, this study invites us to reflect on how we think about diet, health and lifespan.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for dietary restrictions to keep our metabolism in order. Even though our genes largely determine our chances of reaching 99, maintaining good health throughout life is perhaps just as important as extending it, if not more so.
This study was published in magazine Nature.
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Source: www.descopera.ro
