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9 May 2006
Small Calorie Restriction Benefits Longevity 
Adding to previous related research, a new study from the University of Florida (UF) has found that eating a little less food and exercising a little more over a lifespan can reduce, or even reverse, aging-related cell and organ damage. The study, in the journal Antioxidants and Redox Signaling, indicates that even small reductions in calories could have big effects on health. Working with rats, the UF scientists found that feeding them just 8 percent fewer calories a day while moderately increasing the animals' activity extended their average lifespan and significantly curtailed the negative effects of cellular aging. An 8 percent reduction is the equivalent of a few hundred calories in an average human diet. "This finding suggests that even slight moderation in intake of calories and a moderate exercise program is beneficial to a key organ such as the liver, which shows significant signs of dysfunction in the aging process," said Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, the study's senior author. In the study, one group of animals ate as much food as they wanted and did not exercise, while another group of animals exercised lightly and were fed slightly less than they would have eaten if allowed to have their fill. Liver samples from these groups were then compared with samples taken from young rats. The old sedentary rats that ate until they were full had increased levels of harmful oxidizing and inflammatory molecules in the liver that were associated with cell damage caused by aging. Meanwhile, aging rats that exercised and consumed a calorie-restricted diet, had the reverse outcome - they showed a decrease in these molecules in the liver. The researchers believe the study results support the theory that cell death and aging-related organ damage are caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals and by cellular oxidation and inflammation. "In a calorie-restricted environment, you reduce the inflammatory response and prevent cell death," Leeuwenburgh explained. Source: University of Florida
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