For almost a century, laboratory studies have shown that eating fewer amounts of food, or eating less frequently, prolongs the life of those in the laboratory. However, it was not understood why these types of restrictive diets work to extend lifespan and, most importantly, how to best implement them in humans.
Now, a study published in ‘Nature‘ seems to provide a possible answer.
A team of Jackson Laboratory (USA) monitored the health of almost a thousand mice on a variety of diets.
Eating fewer calories has a greater impact on longevity than periodic fasting. According to the study, very low-calorie diets prolonged the life of the mice, regardless of their body fat or glucose levels, both typically considered markers of health. metabolic and aging. Surprisingly, the mice that lived the longest on the restrictive diets were those that lost the least weight despite eating less. Animals that lost the most weight on these diets tended to have low energy, compromised immune and reproductive systems, and shorter lifespans.
The study was designed to ensure that each mouse was genetically distinct, allowing the team to better represent the genetic diversity of the human population.
«Our study highlights the importance of resilience» says Gary Churchill, who led the study. «The strongest animals maintain their weight even in the face of stress and calorie restriction, and they are the ones that live the longest. “It also suggests that a more moderate level of calorie restriction could be the way to balance long-term health and longevity.”
Churchill and his colleagues assigned female mice to five different diets: one in which the animals could freely eat any amount of food at any time; two in which the animals were given only 60% or 80% of their basic daily calories, and two others in which they were not given food for one or two consecutive days each week, but could eat whatever they wanted. the rest of the days.
Lifetime
The mice were then monitored for the rest of their lives with regular blood tests and a thorough assessment of their overall health.
The results showed that mice on unrestricted diets lived an average of 25 months, those on intermittent fasting diets lived an average of 28 months, those eating 80% of their base calories lived an average of 30 months, and those on They ate 60% of their basic calories and lived 34 months.
But within each group, the range of longevity was very wide; Mice that ate fewer calories, for example, had lifespans that ranged from a few months to four and a half years.
#explain #calorie #restriction #diet #prolongs #life
