Calorie Restriction Enhances Lifespan In Experimental Animals. Does It Work In Humans?
We are so worried about the molecules of the meal (fats, what kind of fats; carbs, what kind of carbs; proteins, what kind of proteins) that we may have missed something much more fundamental to keeping good health.
Not just WHAT you eat, but how much of it you eat.
Decades of research in many kind of experimental animals has shown that simply limiting calorie intake can increase the lifespan. Of course, that is in hyper-controlled laboratory conditions. The real question is, does this outcome also translate to humans? And if so, how?
This new study from Yale confirms that there are key health benefits that come from moderate calorie restrictions in humans as well. The research was based on results from the Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE) clinical trial, the first controlled study of calorie restriction in healthy humans.
What They Did
- Researchers first established baseline calorie intake in over 200 study participants.
- They then asked one group to reduce their calorie intake by just 14%.
- The others continued to eat as normal.
- The long-term health effects were monitored over the next two years.
The research team used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to analyze the thymus (which produces immunity cells called T-cells). They wanted to determine if there were differences between the thymus glands of those who were restricting calories and those who were not.
They found that the thymus glands in participants with limited calorie intake had less fat and greater functional volume after two years of calorie restriction, meaning they were producing more T cells than they were at the start of the study. But participants who weren’t restricting their calories had no change in functional volume.
Just controlling your volume at the plate caused your body to produce more T-cells than before!
It turns out that simply cutting your food volume down impacts specific genes, which support the health of your Thymus gland, which helps your body fight off infection. But it also helps reduce age-related inflammation.
About The Author
