Calorie Restriction and Long Life

Well, they've done it with fruit flies, mice and dogs. Now they're doing it with monkeys. Scientists have found that calorie restriction will lengthen the life of monkeys. It seems that calorie restriction will also work with humans.

The monkeys' calories were cut by 30%. The results were amazing. Animals in the calorie-restricted group had half the amount of poor heart and cellular health, and there were no cases of unhealthy blood sugar in the low caloric group. This makes perfect sense -- we all know that overeating is bad for us.

But it gets even better. MR scanning was done on all the monkeys. It was found that those monkeys that were caloric restricted had less shrinkage of the brain in areas important for decision making and controlling movements.

So it seems that calorie restriction will help in decision making and controlling movements (i.e., balance), both important functions for older persons. They will live longer and more healthily. But who wants to eat less to get that benefit. There are many who can and do cut their calories. But it sure takes the fun out of life.

There is a substance that mimics the good results of calorie restriction: resveratrol. In my next post, I'll tell you just how great resveratrol can be.