Does eating less make you live longer? Scientists have discovered which diet promotes longevity

To live longer, it has been suggested that you need to eat less. This is a strategy known as “calorie restriction»and for nearly a century, laboratory studies have shown consistent results. If animals eat less or less frequently, they tend to live longer.

Now research in Jackson Laboratory USA provided more clues to understand why these types of restrictive diets may extend life and how best to apply them to humans. The work was published in the journal Nature and the health of almost thousands was monitored mice with various diets.

The study was designed to ensure that every mouse is genetically different. This allowed the research team to better understand the genetic diversity of the human population.

Thus, they explained, the results are more relevant from a clinical point of view. This could be one of the most important investigations aging And life expectancy done to date.

They found that calorie restriction may affect life expectancy organisms, but not in the traditional sense.

They concluded that ingestion less calories had greater effect life expectancy than intermittent fasting. They found that very low-calorie diets generally extended the lifespan of mice, regardless of body fat or glucose levels, which are generally considered markers of metabolic health and aging.

Marvelous, mice who lived the longest were on restrictive diets those who lost the least amount of weight despite eating less. Animals that lost more weight on these diets tended to have low energy, weak immune and reproductive systems, and shorter life spans.

“Our study really highlights the importance of resilience,” said Gary Churchill, the Carl Gunnar Johansson Professor and leader of the study.

” more hardy animals maintain your weight even against stress And calorie restrictionand they are the ones who live the longest. This also assumes that more moderate level of calorie restriction “This could be a way to balance health and longevity in the long term,” he said.

In short, the scientist gave advice based on research: “If you want to live a long time, there are things you can control during your life, like diet, but really you need a very old grandmother,” the scientist said. . scientific supervisor, Gary Churchillfrom the Jackson Laboratory.

The laboratory is an independent, non-profit biomedical research institution with a designated cancer center National Cancer Institute belonging USA and more than 3,000 employees in the USA, Japan and China.

Almost a thousand mice were exposed low-calorie diets or intermittent fasting. They found that factors such as immune health, genetics And physiological stability may be more critical to life extension than the metabolic changes associated with weight loss.

“Physiological stability” is the ability of the body adapt and recover from situations of physical or emotional stress, illness or environmental changes. This ability allows the body to maintain or restore normal functioning in the face of adverse challenges.

The study was funded Calico Life Sciences and their results challenge the idea that simply cutting calories is enough to prolong life.

Overall, mice on an ad libitum diet lived on average 25 monthsthose who followed the intermittent diet lived on average 28 monthsthose who ate 80% of their initial calories lived on average 30 months and those who ate 60% of their original calories lived for 34 months.

But within each group, life expectancy was very long; For example, the lifespan of mice that ate fewer calories ranged from a few months to four and a half years.

“Although calorie restriction is generally beneficial for longevity, our data show that weight loss while restricting calories is actually bad for longevity– Churchill explained.

“So when we look at human trials of longevity drugs and see that people lose weight and have better metabolic profiles, it turns out that this may not be a good predictor of their future lifespan at all.”

In response to a request Infobae, Fernando Gabriel AltamiranoPhD in Neuroscience National University of Cordoba and the Martin and Mercedes Ferreira Medical Research Institute, commented on the study, published in the journal Nature: “The researchers do not completely ‘destroy’ the idea that calorie restriction can extend lifespan, but rather ensures more subtle look. There are more liberal forms of calorie restriction, such as time-restricted eating and intermittent fasting, which have been shown to be effective in promoting health.”

The Argentine researcher added that “the study found that both calorie restriction and intermittent fasting extended the life of genetically diverse female mice in proportion to the degree of restriction. Calorie restriction of 40% has been shown to be the group with the greatest life extension. However, it has also been emphasized that prolonging life does not necessarily translate into improved health outcomes, as some health parameters are worsened by calorie restriction, such as loss of muscle mass and changes in the immune system, which can increase susceptibility to infections.

The results highlight the complexity and individualized nature of the body’s response to caloric restriction. James Nelsonbiogerontologist University of TexasThis is discussed in dialogue with Nature that the study reveals the complexity of calorie restriction.

It should be taken into account, he noted, that the study focused exclusively on female mice, mainly due to concerns about aggressive behavior in male mice. “Although this choice was practical for the study design, it leaves open the question of how calorie restriction might affect men differently.”

The study also suggests that sustainabilitypossibly encoded in animal genes, plays a key role in longevity.

However, Daniel Belskyepidemiologist Columbia Universityfrom the USA, noted that extrapolating the results of a study on mice to humans may have limitations.

Although he acknowledged that the study contributes to the understanding that health and longevity are not necessarily the same thing. The study highlights the importance of considering multiple factors when assessing the impact of diets on life expectancy.