Question

I have been reading that drastically cutting calories might help me live longer and stay healthier.  Is this true and, if so, is it safe?

Answer

Research shows that rats fed calorie-restricted diets live 50% longer, compared with normally fed counterparts; they are healthier, more active and have more youthful hormone levels and better-functioning immune systems.  The same is true for flies and worms, and there have been preliminary results with monkeys.  Now, scientists are looking at whether restricting calories will produce the same benefits in people. Lest you start drastically cutting your food intake, be aware that the kind of calorie restriction being studied should not be confused with malnutrition, which occurs when food is scarce, or disordered eating, such as anorexia.  While researchers do cut people’s calories by 25 % (for example, a typical woman’s intake would be reduced from 2500 calories a day to 1875) subjects eat diets that contain all the essential vitamins and minerals, 20% of calories from protein, 30% from fat and the rest from high-quality carbohydrate.  One of the reasons for restricting calories may extend life is that it lowers metabolic rate and oxidative stress.  The faster your metabolism is, the more oxygen your body burns, and some of the by-products of this process are harmful.  These unstable molecules, called free radicals, damage DNA, which can lead to signs of aging that range from wrinkles and grey hair to organ degeneration and cancer.  However, scientists are not yet recommending that people restrict calories as a way to stay healthy and live longer, since the research is far from conclusive. In addition, if you eat too few calories, your oestrogen levels may decline enough to cause osteoporosis, absence of menstrual periods and infertility.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 29th, 2010 at 4:49 am and is filed under Questions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.