Two studies being conducted about calorie restriction show how dieting can relatively improve health. However, the debate on longevity still remains. While the long-running experimentation in macaques monkey resulted to a three-year extension from their normal life span, some researchers are not convinced that the same will work on humans.
A rare collaboration between the competing research teams in the aging niche, University of Wisconsin-Madison and National Institute on Aging (NIA) looked into how aging might be conquered. Studying macaques, the researching teams tried to observe how dieting can overcome aging. The two has however come up with conflicting results with one claiming calorie restriction can lengthen lives while the other seems quite unconvinced.
From the said studies, it was recently found out that a strict diet among monkeys has improved their health, but the more surprising result showed how calorie restriction can make their lives longer. From observations, monkeys lived longer by three years than the normal which is translated to approximately nine years in humans. The theory has not yet been tested among humans but there were numerous researchers about the health and longevity of dieting people.
Numerous experiments though about calorie restriction have extended lifespan for lab organisms like yeast, worms, flies and even mice. Following these compelling results, a few thousands of people tried to restrict their calorie consumption to achieve the same longevity rate. From the normal 2000 and 2500 kcal advisable diet for women and men respectively, calorie count now dropped to 1500 and 1800 kcal, correspondingly. As these people hope to live a healthier and longer life, there were evidences that these people have better glucose and blood cholesterol levels.
Although there have been these evidences, a second trial revolving around the calorie restriction in macaques which lived around 26 years is contradicting the more positive results of the first. According to The Verge, the trials began in the late 1980s and not all the monkeys from the said study are still alive as of late. Following this, the interim report published by the University of Wisconsin claim that calorie restriction has allowed the monkeys to live longer. On the other hand, the NIA looked into the study and discovered that there were really no difference in the survival rates of the monkeys and reportedly found out that the monkeys ate whatever and as much as they want.
To shed light to the conflicting claims, the teams revisited their most recent results comparing them to data from their earliest trials. According to Science Daily, NIA made the claim in 2012 but discovered the benefits of dieting in the monkeys’ overall health. The debate still continues over the real benefit of calorie restriction, but Julie Mattison of NIA reportedly believes that the study can contribute to the formulation of anti-aging medicines.
