Encyclopedia of Diets - A Guide to Health and Nutrition

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Tish Davidson, A.M.

Anti-aging diet

Definition

The anti-aging diet is one that restricts calorie

intake by 30–50% of normal or recommended intake

with the goal of increasing human lifespan by at least

30%. People on the diet also have improved health

providing they consume adequatevitamins,minerals,

and other essential nutrients.

Origins

The idea that a calorie-restrictive diet can signifi-

cantly increase lifespan has been around since the

1930s. In 1935, Cornell University food researchers

Clive McCay and Leonard Maynard published their

first in a series of studies of experiments in which

laboratory rats were fed a diet that contained one-

third less calories (compared to a control group of

rats) but still contained adequate amounts of vitamins,

minerals,protein, and other essential nutrients. This

calorie-restrictive diet provided much less energy than

researchers had previously thought rats needed to

maintain growth and normal activities. The rats on

the lower calorie diet lived 30–40% longer than the

rats on a normal calorie diet. Since then, more than

2,000 studies have been done, mostly on animals,

about the connection betweencalorie restrictionand

increased longevity.

A reduced calorie diet was taken a step further by

the University of California, Los Angeles, pathologist

Roy Walford who studied the biology of aging. In 1986

he publishedThe 120-Year Dietand a follow-up in

2000,Beyond the 120-Year Dietin which he argued

that human longevity can be significantly increased by

adhering to a strict diet that contains all the nutrients

needed by humans but with about one-third the calo-

ries. In 1994 he co-authoredThe Anti-Aging Plan:

Strategies and Recipes for Extending Your Healthy

Years. His anti-aging plan is based on his own research

and that of other scientists. Included is his study of diet

and aging conducted as chief physician of the Biosphere

2 project in Arizona in the early 1990s. Walford was one

of eight people sealed in Biosphere 2 from 1991 to 1993

in an attempt to prove that an artificial closed ecolog-

ical system could sustain human life. He also co-

founded the Calorie Restriction Society in 1994.

Description

Anti-aging diets are regimes that reduce the num-

ber of calories consumed by 30–50% while allowing

Anti-Aging Diet

Benefits Risks and disadvantages

Can improved health

Research shows it adds years to

the lifespan and extends youthful

years

Can prevent or forestall many

diseases, including heart disease,

cancer, stroke, diabetes,

osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, and

Parkinson’s

Most physiologic functions and

mental abilities of animals on

reduced calorie diets correspond to

those of much younger animals

Shown to extend the maximum

lifespan of most life forms it has

been tested on

Hunger, food cravings, and

obsession with food

Loss of strength or stamina and

loss of muscle mass, which can

affect physical activities

Decreased levels of testosterone

Rapid weight loss (more than two

pounds a week) which can have an

overall negative impact on health

Slower wound healing

Reduced bone mass

Increased sensitivity to cold

Reduced energy reserves

Menstrual irregularity

Drastic appearance changes from

loss of fat and muscle, causing

people to look thin or anorexic

Problems can arise over family

meals, eating in restaurants,

workplace food, parties, and

holidays

Can cause psychological problems,

including anorexia, binging, and

obsessive thoughts about food

(Illustration by GGS Information Services/Thomson Gale.)

Anti-aging diet