Increased life expectancy: poorly digested food is better than a low-calorie diet
A number of studies have shown that a low-calorie diet contributes to an increase in life expectancy in various laboratory animals. It is also known that a low-calorie diet contributes to improving the health of patients with cardiovascular diseases. Researchers from the Gerontological Center of the University of Southern California (Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center) have shown (so far only on yeast) the possibility of replacing a low-calorie diet with special "inedible" substrates.
As explained by the head of the work, Walter Longo, replacing glucose in the nutrient solution with glycerin gives the same effect as reducing the caloric content of the substrate. At the same time, glycerin is a sufficient source of energy for yeast and allows you to maintain the synthesis of cellular components at a normal level.
Researchers became interested in the glycerin diet after it was discovered that genetically modified yeast, which lives 5 times longer than normal, is characterized by an increased level of activity of genes that determine the synthesis of glycerin. In fact, such yeast effectively converts all glucose and alcohol into glycerin. It is noteworthy that these long-lived yeasts have practically no metabolic mechanism involving TOR1 and SCH9 kinases, which have homologs in mammals and play a role in increasing life expectancy in animals of various species.
When blocking the genes involved in the production of glycerin, yeast largely lost viability. Longo and colleagues believe that switching from glucose utilization to glycerin is only part of the protective system that increases the likelihood of survival of the body. The present study has demonstrated that glycerol biosynthesis is an important process in the metabolic system that increases the lifetime of the simplest organisms.
Perhaps this study contributes to the discovery of macronutrients suitable for the nutrition of higher organisms, including humans, but allowing to avoid negative effects arising from the consumption of sugars.
Full text of the article by Min Wei et al. Tor1/Sch9-Regulated Carbon Source Substitution Is as Effective as Calorie Restriction in Life Span Extension published in PLoS Genetics.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on Physorg materials: Glucose to glycerol conversion in long-lived yeast provides anti-aging effects12.05.2009