Caloric Restriction Slows Aging in Monkeys

• Interesting ideas however having just gone thru on aging books for a final project paper, researchers had problems with the calorie restriction idea. Certainly overeating is very bad.  But overeating means gaining weight or maintaining excess weight.  If you don't restrict your calories but don't gain weight, is this the same? If you restrict your calories but then because you by definition must restrict your activities drastically, to me this sound like you will become unhealthy due to wasting of muscles, weak heart, weak bones etc.  I.e. exercise has been shown to be very good for your heart, brain muscles. In humans being slightly overweight, and active has advantages in that you have a pool of energy you can draw on in case of serious sickness.  I got cholera from tainted food and lost 12 pounds in 4 days.  If I had no fat it would eat into muscles, some of which are critical to the body. Of course being more than a tiny bit overweight is the root of many health problems. secondly the article mentions 'normal diet'.  Is this a normal diet for monkeys?  For people?  I defy someone to say what a 'normal diet' is for people.  To me a normal diet for humans varies by country, and in the US includes twice as much protein as is needed.  Excess protein wears on the body to eliminate. Meat is considered part of a 'normal diet' in the US but has health problems, including changing the route of calcium excretion, tendency to gout from mineral crystals building up in tissue, fatty deposits in arteries, etc. Even vegetarian diets can be vary greatly.  Refined sugars make blood sugars swing wildly which is a major cause of aging, diabetes and eye problems.  Tight blood sugar control is the most important thing a diabetic can do to preserve their vision for example. So if I switch to a diet of mostly complex carbs, nutrient dense, as mentioned in the article, is this a 'normal diet' or am I already prolonging my life such that I don't need to restrict calories (presuming I exercise, avoid industrial or household toxins, etc).. To me this article just creates new questions to ask about this research and new questions for future research.

  erbium 07/09/2009 Posts:105 Avg Rating:

  • Re: Interesting ideas I wonder if Bourzac had a word limit in her paper? She might have included more details that would answer your questions if more words were allowed. I have a hunch this was the case.

    Adrian Zolko... 07/10/2009 Posts:11 Avg Rating:

  • Continuous Dieting May Lead to Longer Life I saw this article mentioned on http://www.projectweightloss.com and wanted to add my two cents. Until more studies are done I will focus on the extra weight and keep exercising. I don't agree with this "eat less" thing, especially if it's healthy.

    Alecu 07/10/2009 Posts:6 Avg Rating:

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