BBC Focus - 04.2020_

ackin 2012 I madea science

documentarycalledEat,Fast

AndLiveLongerwhichexplored

thesciencebehindapproachesto

extendinghealthylifeandholding

backthehandsoftime.I concluded

thattheonlyprovenwaytodothis

wasbycalorierestricting.Now,eight

yearslater,there’sstrongerproofof

thebenefitsfromcalorierestrictionor

intermittentfasting(whereyoureduce

yourcaloriesfortwodaysa week).

The first evidence camefrom

researchersat CornellUniversityin

the1930s.AteamledbyDrClive

McCaydecidedtoputa groupof

miceona low-caloriediet.Theywere

amazedtodiscoverthatmicewho

werefed 30 percentfewercalories

thannormal,lived 40 percentlonger.

Thelonger-livedmicewerealsoless

proneto normalage-relatedillnesses,

suchascancerandheartdisease.

Subsequentstudieshaveshownthe

sameis trueforalmosteveryother

animalspeciesthathasbeenputona

calorie-restricteddiet– theynotonly

livelongerbutarefarmorehealthy.

Sowhatabouthumans?Ina recent

study,CALERIE(Comprehensive

Assessmentof theLong-TermEffects

of Reducing Intake of Energy),

researcherstestedtheeffectsof long-

termcalorierestrictiononnon-obese

people.Inthestudy, 218 healthy

peopleofa normalweightwere

randomlyassignedtoeithercutting

dailycalorieintakeby 15 percentfor

two years, or continuing as normal.

Thoseinthecalorierestriction

group,notsurprisingly,lostweight

(anaverageofninekilograms)but

alsosawbigimprovementsina range

of riskfactors,includingcholesterol,

bloodpressureandC-reactiveprotein

(ameasureofinflammation).They

alsoreportedimprovementsinsleep,

mood,sexdriveandqualityoflife.

Asoneoftheleadresearchers,

LeanneRedman,associateprofessor

ofClinicalSciencesatPennington

BiomedicalResearch,putsit,“We

foundthatevenpeoplewhoare

already healthy and lean may benefit

MICHAEL

MOSLEY

Michaelis a writer

andbroadcaster,

whopresentsTrust

Me,I’mA Doctor.

Youcanwatch

clipsatbit.ly/trust_

me_clips

Couldfastinghelpyouturn

back the hands of time?

HOW TO

STAY YOUNG

COMMENT

froma calorierestrictionregimen.”

Howdoesit work?Well,another

recentfindingis thatcalorierestriction

suppressesthenormalage-related

increasein inflammation,something

widelyrecognisedas a majordriverof

dementia,heartdiseaseandcancer.

Personally,I findtheideaoflong-

termcalorierestrictiona bittoo

challenging,whichis whyI decided

toputmyselfonthe5:2diet,a now

popularformof intermittentfasting.

It dramaticallyimprovedmyhealth

andI wasdelightedtoreada recent

paperintheNewEnglandJournal

OfMedicinewhichlookedat allthe

availableresearchandconcludedthat

thebenefitsofintermittentfasting

arewidespread.Thepapersaidthat

intermittentfastingnotonlyimproves

bloodsugarregulationandblood

pressure,butincreasesresistanceto

stressandsuppressesinflammation.

All good reasons to cut back

a little.

“Evenpeoplewho

arealreadyhealthy

andleanmaybenefit

froma calorie

restriction regimen”

PORTRAIT: KATE COPELAND ILLUSTRATION: JASON RAISH

B