From the New York Times, an article about low calorie diets and the effect on aging in rhesus monkeys:
This approach, called calorie restriction, involves eating about 30 percent fewer calories than normal while still getting adequate amounts of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Aside from direct genetic manipulation, calorie restriction is the only strategy known to extend life consistently in a variety of animal species.How this drastic diet affects the body has been the subject of intense research. Recently, the effort has begun to bear fruit, producing a steady stream of studies indicating that the rate of aging is plastic, not fixed, and that it can be manipulated.
In the last year, calorie-restricted diets have been shown in various animals to affect molecular pathways likely to be involved in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and cancer. Earlier this year, researchers studying dietary effects on humans went so far as to claim that calorie restriction may be more effective than exercise at preventing age-related diseases.
Thankfully i already have the inclination to not eat al ot, but this normally means that i am skipping breakfast and lunch. I don’t do this on purpose so much as i usually don’t have a lot of stuff at home and because most of the time i don’t like taking time off from blogging, researching, writing, playing guitar, working on my photographs, etc.–even if i worked 16 hours a day i would still not be able to finish all the work that i have. And i’m still, or perhaps more neurotic about working than i have before. Even though i still don’t have anything remotely resembling a real job, i am always busy because i am still doing the things that i am interested and passionate about, and there is never enough time in the day for that.
[tags]new york times, article, science, low calories, calories, diet, health, science, experiment, rhesus monkeys[/tags]
