I’ve recently come across a series of legitimate scientific studies talking about obesity and links between reduced Calorie intake and a variety of afflictions from obesity to aging. I’m rolling them into one post for you and providing links to more details, if the spirit moves you to delve deeper…
Restricting your Calorie intake appears to offer a multitude
of benefits for health and longevity…
Danish researchers find gene linked to obesity-promoting behaviour
Researchers at the University of Copenhagan say they found a gene in worms that triggers a feeling of fullness, as well as the need to sleep after eating. Why worms? Round Worms share 80 per cent of their genes with humans including about half of those associated with Human diseases.
The scientists say the discovery opens the way to developing a drug or treatment that could help break the cycle of overeating followed by under-exercising which leads to overweight and, left unchecked long enough, to obesity. Lead investigator Associate Professor Roger Pocock explains that the gene managed the action of a brain transmission factor called ETS-5, which controls signals from the brain to the intestines.
Eating less can let you live more
Simply restricting your Calorie intake can help slow the aging process at the most basic, cellular level, a new study from Brigham Young University shows.
Professor and senior study author John Price and his team compared two groups of mice. One group had unlimited access to food while the other was restricted to consume 35 percent fewer calories, though still receiving all the necessary nutrients for survival.
“When you restrict calorie consumption, there’s almost a linear increase in lifespan,” Price says. “We inferred that the restriction caused real biochemical changes that slowed down the rate of aging.”
Though not the first study to link reduced Calorie intake with a longer, healthier life, Price’s is the first to posit a mechanism explaining the effect.
Common Skin Cream ingredient may mimic effects of Calorie restriction
University of Liverpool scientists have discovered that a plant-based ingredient in many ‘anti-aging’ skin creams may be useful in developing a drug or diet-based treatment for overweight and obesity.
The team, led by Dr João Pedro de Magalhães, found that a substance called allantoin, which is found in botanical extracts of the Comfrey plant and is an ingredient of many anti-ageing creams, can mimic the effect of calorie restriction and increase lifespan in worms by more than 20 per cent.
Yes, it’s those worms again; the ones we mentioned in our blurb about the Danish study, above.
Dr. de Magalhães says, “Calorie restriction has been shown to have health benefits in humans and, while more work is necessary, our findings could potentially result in human therapies for age-related diseases.”
Cutting Calories could slow the progress of age-related brain deterioration
A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience shows a link between restriction of Caloric in take and a reduction in the loss of brain cells.
Researchers at the Picower Institute For Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute studied the effects of a reduced calorie diet on the progression of age-related brain conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease. They discovered that caloric restriction activates an enzyme called Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), which other studies suggest offers some protection against age-associated impairments in the brain.
Here, again, is evidence that restricting Caloric intake can help fight afflictions associated with aging.
Now you know everything!
Well, almost everything. Or at least a little about Calories and health.. But you certainly know enough to make it worthwhile considering moderating your Calorie intake if you want to live a longer, healthier life…
~ Maggie J.