Posted on 08/29/2012 6:41:02 PM PDT by neverdem
Genetics and healthy diets matter more for longevity.
To those who enjoy the pleasures of the dining table, the news may come as a relief: drastically cutting back on calories does not seem to lengthen lifespan in primates.
The verdict, from a 25-year study in rhesus monkeys fed 30% less than control animals, represents another setback for the notion that a simple, diet-triggered switch can slow ageing. Instead, the findings, published this week in Nature1, suggest that genetics and dietary composition matter more for longevity than a simple calorie count.
“To think that a simple decrease in calories caused such a widespread change, that was remarkable,” says Don Ingram, a gerontologist at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, who designed the study almost three decades ago while at the National Institute on Aging (NIA)...
--snip--
One reason for that difference could be that the WNPRC monkeys were fed an unhealthy diet, which made the calorie-restricted monkeys seem healthier by comparison simply because they ate less of it. The WNPRC monkeys’ diets contained 28.5% sucrose, compared with 3.9% sucrose at the NIA. Meanwhile, the NIA meals included fish oil and antioxidants, whereas the WNPRC meals did not. Rick Weindruch, a gerontologist at the WNPRC who led the study, admits: “Overall, our diet was probably not as healthy.”
Further, the WNPRC control group probably ate more overall, because their meals were unlimited, whereas NIA monkeys were fed fixed amounts. As adults, control monkeys in the WNPRC study weighed more than their NIA counterparts. Overall, the WNPRC results might have reflected an unhealthy control group rather than a long-lived treatment group. “When we began these studies, the dogma was that a calorie is a calorie,” Ingram says. “I think it’s clear that the types of calories the monkeys ate made a profound difference.”...
(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...
Good. I’d druther live a short and full-bellied life than a long hungry one anyway.
Red wine seems to do it for me. I’ll stick with that.
Hate to break it to you: Life is fatal.
No one’s getting out of here alive.
I gave up beets for red wine. :)
When you are ultimately talking about the energy equation, this is still true. Of course, nutrition is about MUCH more than just energy in vs energy out.
With a few possible exceptions, Enoch and Elijah...
‘zactly!
the dogma was that a calorie is a calorie When you are ultimately talking about the energy equation, this is still true. Of course, nutrition is about MUCH more than just energy in vs energy out.Yep, calories in, calories out is quite valid--for a machine.
Genetics and healthy diets matter more for longevity.
Please note that this study and results are only valid for Rhesus monkeys!
Nobody seems to agree on what exactly is a healthy diet. People are all looking for some magic lifestyle of diet and exercise that will ensure their health and longevity. I hate to break it to them, but much of what happens to our bodies is out of our control. I still remember the shock some people expressed when a distance runner died of cancer. Apparently they believed that runners don’t get sick.
The number 1 risk factor for most diseases is aging, and there’s nothing one can do about that. Perhaps if we worried less and enjoyed the days we have been given more, we would all be better off. Oh, and tell the national health nannies to mind their own business. If it were not for socialized health insurance and care, one’s health would be nobody else’s business.
Author Gary Taubes has written 2 books on this subject, “Good Calories; Bad Calories” and “Why We Get Fat”. The first book is more in depth on the subject.
It’s good to see more publicity on the fact that weight loss isn’t simply calories in - calories out. There is a genetic factor in the mix, in addition to the fact that calories of carbohydrate, in particular refined white starch, are more likely to be stored as fat than are calories from green vegetables and from meats and fish. Calories from fat do not automatically get stored as fat, interestingly enough.
bump
get married, you’ll live longer
Ack! I thought top-notch journals like Nature all had editors on staff. I guess I was wrong...
Anyway, the premise that calorie restriction could extend life never made much sense to me. I wonder if some of the rodent studies suffer from similar design flaws as the rhesis studies described here.
The rich getting to live a long time is unfair to the food stampers that die younger. Obamacare isn’t just wealth redistribution, but time alive redistribution. Your socialist overlords will ration care after they decide you’ve had enough and your time is up. Don’t bother responsibly taking care of yourself because Obamacare is out to level that field.
If you are average healthy Joe w/ normal lipid profile and blood sugar, if you follow this diet, you will be shocked at how good you will feel in just a weeks time and in a months time how loose your pants are. Your blood chemistry will change to numbers you’re Doc will marvel at.
Here’s the secret. Step 1, open your bathroom window and throw the damn bathroom scales out. The “answer” isn’t a number. Step 2, don’t count calories. Step 3, eat real food. Step 4, walk 45 minutes (3 miles for me), 4-5 time per week. Substitute golf, fishing, hunting, biking as you enjoy. But get moving.
Diet proportions: Eat 0% processed foods of any kind. Eat only real food! Eat 40% of your calories as fresh vegetables and leafy greens, raw or cooked. 10-20% as fresh fruit or real juice. 20% legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains. 20% as low fat meats and dairy. Salmon being the best meat choice. Percentages will vary some day to day, but don’t lag on the veggies.
It is important that your exercise go at least 40 minutes. This gives your body time to burn all the glucose out of your blood and switch your body into the fat burning machine it is. This switch happens after ~20 minutes of walking in most people. The additional 20 minutes puts your body it is optimal fat burning state, your metabolism will increase and this effect will carry over for hours afterward.
It’s hard to break old habits, I’ll give you that. But once you do, it’s easy to stay the course. I live the typical guy life with my friends, but now I get Ultra and peanuts instead of a Bud and Wings. Worst case, every ice house can make a garden salad or veggie sandwich. In the first few weeks, you’ll have moments of weakness and get the wings or cheeseburger. Go ahead, but, I guarantee when you’re walking the next day you’ll feel a difference and next time it will be easy to pass. You will come to cherish how good you feel when you eat well. You’ll also notice cognitive differences, your brain will love this diet.
Google “Nutritarian” for more info. Talk to your Doc about it before you start!
Even if you don't, it will seem like it. ;-)
ha ha :) I was waiting for that reply :)
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