This diet fad made the news a while back after some study or other revealed that rats had a significantly extended lifetime when fed only about 40% of their usual caloric intake. It’s called something like ‘Caloric Reduction with Adequate Nutrition’ or something similar. I’ve also heard secondhand that the same result has been demonstrated in chimpanzees.
Recently I met someone whose husband is following this religiously.
Does anyone have more details about this, such as the cites for the studies mentioned above? Thoughts on whether this will really work? How much will it increase your lifespan? Is it worth it? (I’m not considering it; I just am interested in your opinions… guess that means my answer is no… I love good food too much )
“It seemed like a good idea at the time…
…but then again, so did the atomic bomb.” -Charles Sismondo
I can’t give you a specific cite but I recall reading about the results in Scientific American. I’ll take a look at their website and see if I can find anything.
However, the bad news for your acquaintance’s husband is that if he adopts this diet as an adult he’s way too late.
“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully.
“It’s the same thing,” he said.
In the January 1996 issue of Scientific American, which I happen to have a copy of at my desk (how many of you can make that statement?), has an article on this subject. The author cites original studies from “sixty years ago…at Cornell University” that describe the lifespan of rats being increased by one-third, from three years to four.
The last few paragraphs of the article describe possible extension to humans. Primate studies are underway but are, of necessity, incomplete since the primates have not yet reached their typical laboratory lifetimes, which can be thirty years or more. The author suggests that, if implemented, humans should begin the regimen at about 20 years of age. Starting younger than that leads to retarded growth in mice and “researchers were unable to prolong survival of rats when diet control was instituted in adulthood.” He suggests that this may have been due to adopting the regimen too suddenly or being given too few calories, or both. Their are also significant complications for females and ovulation and fertility.
A likely diet would consist of about 1300 calories daily, with 1 gram of protein and 1/2 gram of fat per kilogram of body weight. Achieving sufficient nutrition on such a diet is challenging. Very careful selection of foods and/or nutrient supplements is required.
Bottom line, according to this guy, is that there is real potential but we don’t know enough at the moment to make any recommendations. He suggests the payoff may be lifespans of 110 years or so.
In follow-up letters someone suggested that his diet would ruin the Social Security Trust Fund. The author responded that the plan is not merely to improve lifespan but the quality of life as well. He suggested that working till you were 85 years old would also become routine. So, once again, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
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