How to Live Longer
A study has provided insight into how a calorie restricted diet extends lifespan and prevents age-related diseases.
Scientists have long known that calorie restricted diets or CR, and very low calorie diets or VLCD, have this longevity effect in animals and presumably in humans, but the mechanism has been unclear.
This study on mice looked for senescent cells – cells that have reached the point where they can no longer reproduce – to determine whether a restricted diet had any effect on this process, believed to be the main cause of aging.
They found a reduced accumulation of senescent cells in the liver and intestines, organs known to accumulate large numbers of these cells with age. Also, the telomeres – protective tips on the ends of chromosomes that prevent cell replication errors and disease, until they shorten with age – were better maintained in the restricted mice. Because the effect occurred after a short period of restriction, the researchers suggested that the longevity benefit might occur even when the diet is adopted later in life rather than for an entire lifetime.
This study was presented at the conference of the British Society for Research on Ageing (BSRA) in Newcastle, UK, on July 16, 2010 but it has not been published.
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