A Low-Cal Diet May Be Key To Living Longer
By: Sean Blair
A restricted low-calorie diet may help extend life in primates according to a recent study.
Yesterday it was reported by Wisconsin researchers that two decades ago this study was started and has proven that rhesus monkeys on a low-calorie diet live long and healthier lives that may slow the process of aging.
The study consisted of 76 rhesus monkeys that once reached adulthood were split up in two different groups and half consumed 30 percent less calories than the other half who resumed on a regular diet.
Five monkeys on the restricted diet had died of age related issues including cancer and cardiovascular disease, but 14 monkeys that were on normal diets died within the same time period. The restricted diet group contained with fewer cases of cancer, no diabetes and fewer cases of cardiovascular disease.
“The new study shows the effects of calorie restriction in primates that are closely related to humans,” says lead researcher Ricki Colman, Ph.D., an associate scientist at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, in Madison. “Monkeys in the calorie-restricted group are more likely to live healthier, longer.” The oldest monkey in the study is now 29. This species has an average lifespan of 27 when in captivity.
“We don’t know about ultimate longevity yet, but the monkeys in the calorie-restricted group are unencumbered by age-related diseases and brain atrophy, which is linked to cognitive ability,” says Colman.
According to Ricki J. Colman, the scientist at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, the appearance between the groups were quite obvious also with the monkeys on the normal diet had thinner coats, posture cramped and sunken in eyes.
There still remains 33 monkeys, 20 on the restricted diet and 13 on the normal. The rhesus monkeys average life span in captivity is 27 years, but researchers are still questioning if the low calorie diet monkeys will out live that average age.
With scientits researching for years on cutting calories that have extended lives of rodents and flies, their discoveries have yet to answer the question of whether this diet will prolong human life spans.
Not everyone agrees that such calorie restriction is beneficial.
Keri Gans, R.D., a nutritionist in private practice in New York City and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association says drastic calorie restiction can be dangerous.
“If you go too far, it can lead to a lot of problems such as dizziness and fatigue in the short term,” she says. “In the long term, there can be nutritional deficiencies, decreases in bone mineral density that can lead to osteoporosis, and menstrual irregularities that can lead to infertility.
“Once you start to restrict calories, there is no guarantee of adequate nutrition unless you are following a plan monitored by a registered dietitian,” she says. “The less calories you consume, the harder it may be to ensure that your diet includes foods that provide proper nutrition.”
This new study done with the monkeys have given researchers hope that they are moving forward and on the right track in finding the fountain of youth for humans.
