FOR A long time, medical researchers have known that eating less extends the lifespan of a variety of animals. Experts in human ageing believe that it can do the same thing for mankind. This strategy is referred to as caloric restriction.
Food provides us with two main requirements: energy and nutrients. A calorie is simply a unit used to measure the energy value of foods. Research suggests that most people consume too many calories for optimal health.
Caloric restriction is not a near-starvation diet. It is a healthy lifestyle plan that is accompanied by weight loss, only occasional hunger, optimal nutrition, and many health benefits. To stress the importance of good nutrition, I will refer to caloric restriction as 'caloric restriction with optimal nutrition' or CRON (a term used by the Life Extension Foundation).
Practising CRON means reducing caloric intake by up to 30 per cent and greatly limiting the consumption of high-calorie, nutrient-poor foods such as white flour, refined sugar and bad fats. It is important that additional vitamins and minerals be added to any caloric restriction programme to avoid any nutrient deficiency. Only calories, not nutrients, should be limited.
Reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes
Factors that increase your risk of heart disease such as obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides are rapidly lowered once animals or humans are placed on CRON.
As people age, their cells become resistant to insulin, a condition called insulin resistance. This causes blood levels of insulin and glucose to rise. Elevated blood glucose and insulin are major risk factors for Type Two diabetes. A lowering of insulin and glucose can be observed even after one month of calorie restriction, even before any weight loss has occurred.
Cell protection
CRON increases the ability of the body to defend itself against free-radical damage. Free-radical damage to cells is considered to be a major cause of many degenerative diseases as well as the ageing process itself. Experiments show that ageing rats on CRON have a greater resistance to cellular damage when compared to younger animals.
CRON AND CANCER
The anti-cancer effects of caloric restriction are well known in experimental animals, and studies in humans also suggest a protective effect. Even non-cancerous growths like uterine fibroids seem to diminish with CRON.
Of theory and practice
To live long, healthy lives, we need to find a way to have the benefits of CRON without being constantly distracted by hunger. Maintaining a reduced caloric intake over the long term can be very demanding, especially in a culture surrounded by inexpensive, plentiful, calorie-rich, nutrient-poor food.
So, restrict your food consumption while improving your nutrition. It can lengthen your life,
Email Dr Tony Vendryes at vendryes@mac.com, log on www.anounceofprevention.org or listen to 'An Ounce of Prevention' on POWER 106FM on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.
Guidelines to reduced caloric intake
Avoid certain foods.
Sweet, starchy and fatty foods are calorie-rich. Avoid these foods, particularly most fast food.
Foods high in water and fibre are lower in calories.
These include the fresh vegetables and most not-so-sweet fruit. Emphasise these in your diet.
Use supplements.
Supplement your diet with high-quality multivitamin and mineral tablets and fish oil capsules at each meal.
Replace one or more regular meals with shakes.
Modern food technology has created delicious meal-replacement protein shakes. High-quality shakes are designed to be very rich in nutrients and very low in calories. The shakes I recommend to my patients contain less than 200 calories each, while providing more nutrients than are found in 2,000 calories of regular food. They are the ideal anti-ageing foods.
Have a fibre supplement before meals.
This will increase your feeling of fullness and reduce your absorption of fats and your food consumption. I use a tablet called 'Activated Fiber'.
Drink lots of water.
Make water your standard drink. It contains zero calories while helping to make you stomach feel full. The next choice of beverages should be herbal tea or natural coconut water.
