Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Can Eating Less Slow the Aging Process?




For me, eating less and loosing 30 pounds of body weight in the last two years has significantly lowered my average morning fasting blood sugar and four month A1C readings; and, has resulted in my cardiologist reducing my blood pressure medicine dosages in half.  I feel stronger and more energetic, and I exercise in some way on a daily basis.  I sleep soundly and dream every night.  My waistline measurements have decreased from 44 inches to 40 inches.  My current goal is to reach a body weight of 230 pounds, and a waist of 38 inches, at a height of 6’6”.  Consequently, I plan to continue my efforts to eat less, but eat nutritious meals. 

I doubt I can live longer by eating less, but the likelihood of reducing the significant possible negative health effects of my Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure seem worth the effort. 

Is fasting one day a week reasonable for me?    I am currently not sure about this approach to reducing caloric intake, since I actively exercise each day.  Maybe skipping dinner twice a week might be an option.  Comments?? 


“While human calorie restriction doesn't have the same impact on life span, it does provide numerous benefits, such as a greatly lowered risk for most degenerative conditions of aging, and improved measures of health. In recent years, human studies of long-term and short-term calorie restriction have comprehensively demonstrated these benefits. Many researchers believe that the evidence to date shows the practice of CR will in fact extend the healthy human life span, but there simply isn't enough data yet to pin down the effects on life expectancy. It is plausible that they are at least as good as those resulting from exercise. If so, it could mean a difference of 5-10 years of life.”



“Calorie restriction (CR) extends life span and retards age-related chronic diseases in a variety of species, including rats, mice, fish, flies, worms, and yeast. The mechanism or mechanisms through which this occurs are unclear. CR reduces metabolic rate and oxidative stress, improves insulin sensitivity, and alters neuroendocrine and sympathetic nervous system function in animals. Whether prolonged CR increases life span (or improves biomarkers of aging) in humans is unknown. In experiments of nature, humans have been subjected to periods of nonvolitional partial starvation. However, the diets in almost all of these cases have been of poor quality. The absence of adequate information on the effects of good-quality, calorie-restricted diets in nonobese humans reflects the difficulties involved in conducting long-term studies in an environment so conducive to overfeeding. Such studies in free-living persons also raise ethical and methodologic issues. Future studies in nonobese humans should focus on the effects of prolonged CR on metabolic rate, on neuroendocrine adaptations, on diverse biomarkers of aging, and on predictors of chronic age-related diseases.”
-  Caloric Restriction and Aging, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition   


Calorie restriction (CR), or caloric restriction, is a dietary regimen that is based on low calorie intake. "Low" can be defined relative to the subject's previous intake before intentionally restricting calories, or relative to an average person of similar body type. Calorie restriction without malnutrition has been shown to work in a variety of species, among them yeast, fish, rodents and dogs to decelerate the biological aging process, resulting in longer maintenance of youthful health and an increase in both median and maximum lifespan.



Live Longer:  The One Anti-Aging Trick That Works by Robert Roy Britt.

Making Aging Positive by Linda P. Fried

The Longevity Diet by Lisa Waldford and Brian M. Delaney




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