Saturday, April 23, 2016

Calorie restriction in older people for health benefits

Phil's "new" car, a 1968 Chevy
 I was born with a heart problem--an extra electrical circuit that acted up more and more as I got older.  No one knew about it because unless you're having tachycardia or arrhythmia (which I had often) while you're at the hospital or clinic for something else, no one finds it. And if you've lived with it all your life, you just think light-headedness is normal. It was diagnosed in 1996, I took medication for awhile, then had an ablation in 2002, but the right medications weren't determined until 2 years ago, and I've had zero problems since.
 
So I'm here at 76 because of the miracle of modern medicine--pharmaceutical research and surgical skill. But probably the only thing I can do personally to slow down the actual aging of my heart is caloric restriction. The first animal studies were done on this before I was born.  It is not the same as lowering my body weight. Reducing body size through exercise doesn't have the same effect. Hate that. I just had a bacon and cheese sandwich for breakfast and probably blew my entire calorie quota for the day. My husband has been on a mission team in Haiti for a week, and one night I had a glass of red wine and a dish of chocolate ice cream for supper.
 
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140401/ncomms4557/full/ncomms4557.html
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

2 comments:

Paula said...

I have been doing CR since age 11. I don't know if it will ultimately be a good thing if I end up with a longer life, but the last years in poor health and finances. Lifespan is not why I do it in any case. I just feel better lighter and leaner. Too much food makes me nauseated.

Norma said...

There seems to be a thin (pardon the pun) line between healthy slim and anorexia.