| Starve yourself to live longer { April 20 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8122-1081489,00.htmlhttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8122-1081489,00.html
Health news April 20, 2004
Easy way to live longer: just starve yourself By Mark Henderson, Science Correspondent AN EXTREME low-calorie diet can dramatically reduce the risk of developing diabetes or the clogged arteries that cause heart attacks and strokes, scientists in the United States have discovered.
Diet regimes that restrict calorie intake to two thirds of recommended levels can slash decades from the cardiovascular “age” of their followers, the first study of their long-term health effects has revealed. The research suggests that such drastic calorie restriction, which was found to enhance the life expectancy of mice and rats by up to 30 per cent, can also prolong the human lifespan. While there is no concrete evidence that followers of such diets live longer than average, the research, at Washington University in St Louis, offers the strongest indication yet that this is likely to be so.
“It’s very clear from these findings that calorie restriction has a powerful, protective effect against diseases associated with ageing,” said John Holloszy, Professor of Medicine at Washington University in St Louis. “We don’t know how long each individual actually will end up living, but they certainly have a much longer life expectancy than average because they’re most likely not going to die from a heart attack, stroke or diabetes.”
Luigi Fontana, the study’s lead author, said: “For the first time, we’ve shown that calorie restriction is feasible and has a tremendous affect on the risk for atherosclerosis (clogged arteries) and diabetes.”
Experts, however, said that the study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involved just 18 people, all of whom followed a tough eating regime for at least three years. Most people would not do so and would do more harm than good.
“These results are interesting, but following a diet like this for a prolonged period of time is a pretty tall order,” said Toni Steer of the Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Unit in Cambridge.
|
|