3 Longevity Lessons: #1

Benjamin Franklin said, “To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals.” He was absolutely spot on, but how did he know this? Maybe it was just plain observation, because this advice came was long before any of the research had been done.  In fact, one of the factors that best aligns with longer life is actually calorie restriction.

It’s important to point out that this does NOT mean that you should launch on a starvation diet or go on some drastic fasting diet. Going that far overboard with the idea is ultimately very bad for you. 

The research shows in experimental animals and also in humans that reducing calories at the plate by as little as 15% can make a huge difference in overall health, but also in lifespan.  According to this research article, 

Calorie restriction caused a persistent and significant reduction … of all measured conventional cardiometabolic risk factors, including change scores for LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol ratio, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. In addition, calorie restriction resulted in a significant improvement at 2 years in C-reactive protein, insulin sensitivity index, and metabolic syndrome score relative to control. The responses were be robust after controlling for relative weight loss changes.

So the answer is really hidden in plain sight, and said no better by anyone than Benjamin Franklin: “To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals.”