Five Natural Compounds Simulate Caloric Restriction
A Milestone in Longevity Research
Reducing the number of ingested calories, while maintaining healthy intake of essential nutrients triggers a cascade of anti-aging mechanisms in the body. More than 70 years of research have established its life-extending power.
The most scientifically validated way to extend life span, from single-celled organisms to mammals is caloric restriction. This technique has been shown to boost life span by nearly 100% in some species.
In a milestone 20-year study of Rhesus monkeys, our close genetic relatives, a modestly restricted diet resulted in a three-fold reduction in the risk of age-related disease.
The most scientifically validated way to extend life span, from single-celled organisms to mammals is caloric restriction. This technique has been shown to boost life span by nearly 100% in some species.
In a milestone 20-year study of Rhesus monkeys, our close genetic relatives, a modestly restricted diet resulted in a three-fold reduction in the risk of age-related disease.
Aging individuals may now enjoy some of the youth-promoting, disease-fighting mechanisms of caloric restriction without strict dietary measures.
All available data indicate that calorie restriction also slows aging and reduces the risk of killer diseases in humans as well. Individuals who impose a 20% reduction in their calorie consumption for 2-6 years lose fat weight and show significant improvement in their markers of aging, including blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and glucose control.
Even brief periods of caloric restriction can temporarily improve core body temperature and insulin sensitivity, which happen to be markers of longevity. In clinical studies, short intervals of caloric restriction have reduced systemic inflammation, an underlying factor of so many chronic, degenerative diseases.
More youthful heart muscle performance has also been observed, caloric restriction appears to increase the number of vital energy-producing mitochondria in heart and skeletal muscle, reducing the oxidative damage that accelerates aging.
No other intervention documented in the scientific literature can compete with caloric restriction as a candidate for slowing aging and supporting youthful health in humans.
It is regrettable that most aging individuals don’t lower calorie intake by the 20-30% reduction required to reap the benefits of caloric restriction, as it can dramatically lower disease risk and add years to their lives.
Caloric Restriction “Mimics” and Gene Expression
Even brief periods of caloric restriction can temporarily improve core body temperature and insulin sensitivity, which happen to be markers of longevity. In clinical studies, short intervals of caloric restriction have reduced systemic inflammation, an underlying factor of so many chronic, degenerative diseases.
More youthful heart muscle performance has also been observed, caloric restriction appears to increase the number of vital energy-producing mitochondria in heart and skeletal muscle, reducing the oxidative damage that accelerates aging.
No other intervention documented in the scientific literature can compete with caloric restriction as a candidate for slowing aging and supporting youthful health in humans.
It is regrettable that most aging individuals don’t lower calorie intake by the 20-30% reduction required to reap the benefits of caloric restriction, as it can dramatically lower disease risk and add years to their lives.
Caloric Restriction “Mimics” and Gene Expression
The problem many people have in sufficiently reducing their calorie intake has led to a novel scientific solution.
Researchers have identified a select group of nutrients that trigger many of the same underlying mechanisms of action as caloric restriction. Among the most promising of these caloric restriction mimics and enhancers are resveratrol, pterostilbene, quercetin, and grape seed extract, along with black tea extract. These nutraceuticals have been shown to generate many of the same effects in the body as caloric restriction, without significant dietary modification. In particular, they “mimic” caloric restriction’s favorable impact on genes that influence the aging process.
Calorie restriction sharply limits expression of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB). In the cells, NF-kB is a critical gene regulator that governs response to pro-inflammatory cytokines, free radicals, cholesterol levels, immune function, and cancer prevention.
The nutrients that mimic caloric restriction also act to stabilize NF-kB regulation and help combat the age-related conditions associated with unfavorable NF-kB activity.
Resveratrol activates sirtuins, a powerful family of “information regulator” proteins that inhibit NF-kB, reducing inflammation throughout the body, such as that caused by second-hand cigarette smoke. Resveratrol also prevents inflammatory mast cells from releasing the histamines that trigger asthma and allergic reactions.
Resveratrol radically decreases production of the adhesion molecules that attract inflammatory cells to vascular walls, one of the principal mechanisms of atherosclerosis. Adhesion molecules also permit cancer cells to invade tissue and metastasize. Resveratrol’s influence over NF-kB has also enhanced beneficial UV-induced programmed cell death (apoptosis) in skin cancer cells.
Found in blueberries, pterostilbene is a polyphenol closely related to resveratrol. It limits NF-kB activity through multiple complementary mechanisms.31 In vitro, pterostilbene suppresses invasive tumor activity and enhances therapeutic destruction of cancer cells.
Quercetin’s ability to protect against chronic inflammatory conditions such as asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, and arthritis is due in part to its capacity for NF-kB inhibition.
Grape seed extract also disrupts cellular inflammation signaling by blocking NF-kB. Its effect on pro-inflammatory cytokine production in fat cells may even help combat obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Black tea extract’s influence on NF-kB activity has been shown to specifically protect cells from damage associated with inflammation, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke.
By Julius Goepp, MD
Life Extension Magazine February 2010
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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