The fact that a low–calorie diet pushes back old age is no longer a hypothesis, but a medical fact
Restriction of caloric intake increases the average life expectancy and postpones the onset of age-related diseases in primates. This was first established by American scientists during a 20-year experiment with rhesus monkeys, the results of which were published in the journal Science (Ricki J. Colman et al., Caloric Restriction Delays Disease Onset and Mortality in Rhesus Monkeys). A summary of the results (Calorie-Counting Monkeys Live Longer) is publicly available.
According to RIA Novosti, Ricky Coleman from the National Primate Research Center in Wisconsin and his colleagues remind that the slowing down of aging due to a decrease in the calorie content of food (but not poor nutrition) was noticed by scientists back in the 1930s. So, in 1935, Clive McCay from Cornell University and his colleagues showed that a calorie-restricted diet increases the maximum and average life expectancy of rats and mice by 30-50%. Similar experiments were carried out on microorganisms, worms, flies.
"However, the effect of this (calorie restriction) on diseases and mortality in primates has not been clearly established before... Our 20-year research... designed to fill this critical gap in the study of aging," the researchers write.
The experiment began in 1989 at the Wisconsin Primate Research Center. The objects of the study were rhesus monkeys, whose average life expectancy is 27 years, and the maximum is 40. In the first stage of the experiment, 30 adult males aged seven to 14 years participated, in 1994 16 more males and 30 females were added to them, which allowed scientists to study gender differences in response to a low-calorie diet.
The monkeys were divided into two groups – experimental, which received food with a limited calorie content, and control, where the usual diet was maintained. For monkeys in the "dietary" group, the researchers first determined the basic calorie intake, and then began to reduce the calorie content by 10% over three months, until the restriction reached 30%. The animals that died during the experiment were opened by a pathologist who did not know which of the two groups the monkey belonged to. So scientists could determine in which cases death is associated with aging, and in which cases it is not.
The authors of the article note that the animals of the two groups differed greatly even in appearance. The monkeys in the control group looked much older. In addition, they were distinguished by a greater mass of fat deposits, they developed age-related muscle atrophy more strongly.
Five monkeys from the control group developed diabetes, 11 were in a prediabetic state. At the same time, all the macaques put on a diet maintained a normal metabolism. In addition, there were 50% fewer cases of cardiovascular pathology among them.
After 20 years, 14 (37%) out of 38 animals in the control group died, and only five (13%) out of 38 monkeys on a diet. In most cases, macaques died from age–related diseases - diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and brain tissue atrophy.
"Our data indicate that a moderate decrease in caloric intake in adulthood delays the onset of age–related pathological changes and contributes to an increase in life expectancy in primates," the scientists conclude.
They note that the proximity between monkeys and humans suggests that the beneficial effect of reduced calorie intake can also be observed in humans.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru10.07.2009