67 Year Old Fitness Fan Comments on Senior Health and Fitness ...

I've just been reading a couple of articles about Calorie Restriction (CR). Many people believe, and claim, that following a low calorie diet, where as a healthy diet is reduced to as much as 30% below what would be considered optimum.

One article I have read before. It is "Calorie Restriction for Life Extension" by natural bodybuilding champion and fitness trainer, Tom Venuto. The other is "Low Calorie Diet May Not Extend Life" published two days ago at Discovery News.

In his article, Tom Venuto explores the idea behind, and the practice of, calorie restriction. After considering some of the research and conclusions behind the claims of living longer through calorie restriction, he then goes on to reach the conclusion that, while there might be "some" minor extension of life due to a long term practice of CR, there are possible negative factors which may more than offset the supposed benefits.

The proposed main benefit of calorie restriction, i.e. life extension, cannot be proven until researchers have been able to track entire lifetimes of several individuals...perhaps through several generations.

The 23 year long study by the National Institute on Aging, which is the basis for the Discovery News article, reaches essentially the same conclusions. In the NIA study, the participants, rhesus monkeys, while healthier, did not appear to live longer than the control group which was allowed a fairly unrestricted diet.

Both articles made three major points:

1. If there is actually some life extension because of calorie restriction, it will probably be minimal.

2. Such a diet, if done properly, i.e. with the right foods being included in the appropriate amounts, and probably with supplementation to fill in the blanks, will almost certainly contribute to better health in terms of less risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other health issues directly or indirectly linked to being overweight.

3. To actually get the maximum longevity benefits, a person would have to follow a CR eating program for their whole life.

For myself, I can eat well, enjoy my life, and be in good health without following a Calorie Restriction diet. I will also probably live nearly as long as I would on one without having to pass every day spending vast amounts of psychic energy, if you will in a quest for a few extra days of life.

Jay Phelan, a biologist at UCLA, puts it, "Yes, it will increase lifespan, but it will not increase it by 50% or 60%, it won?t increase it by 20% or 10%, it might increase it by 2%. So if you tell me that I have to do something horrible for every day of my life for a 2% benefit - for an extra year of life - I say no thanks.?

I'm with you, Jay. ====================

Source: http://fitness-after-40.blogspot.com/2012/08/calorie-restriction-question-of-life.html

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