Zestz the 'Fountain of Youth'

Calorie restriction can reduce your risks for many common diseases including cancer, diabetes and heart disease. And you may live to be substantially older."

Many laboratory studies have shown that calorie restriction slows the aging process in rats and mice. While scientists do not know the rationale for this, one popular hypothesis is that it slows aging by decreasing a thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine (T3), which then slows metabolism and tissue aging.

Now here’s evidence that calorie restriction does work in humans like it has been shown to work in animals.

In a 2008 study, Edward Weiss et al assigned volunteers, which included sedentary, non-smoking, 50- to 60- year-old men and post-menopausal women with average or slightly above average body man index values, to one of three groups - a calorie-restriction group, an exercise group or a control group - and followed for one year.

Volunteers in the calorie restriction group lost weight by reducing their daily calorie intake by 300 to 500 calories* per day. Volunteers in the exercise group maintained their regular diet and exercised regularly.

Volunteers in both the calorie-restriction and exercise groups experienced similar changes of body fat mass. However, only volunteers in the calorie restriction group also experienced lower levels of the thyroid hormone.

Although a long-term study is still needed to determine if reducing T3 levels through calorie restriction does indeed slow the aging process, Weiss says cutting back on calories is a good idea.

Because it also slows metabolism, calorie-restricted weight loss could make people more prone to weight gain over time. You should therefore include exercise in your daily routine.

*Cutting 300 to 500 calories per day is equivalent to skipping dessert or substituting a turkey sandwich instead of a Big Mac and fries.

Edward P. Weiss, Dennis T. Villareal, Susan B. Racette, Karen Steger-May, Bhartur N. Premachandra, Samuel Klein, and Luigi Fontana1. Caloric Restriction But Not Exercise-Induced Reductions in Fat Mass Decrease Plasma Triiodothyronine Concentrations: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Rejuvenation Res. 2008 June; 11(3): 605–609.

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