Consuming fewer calories could help you age more slowly and in better health.
- Calorie restriction modifies molecular processes associated with aging.
- Adopting a low-calorie diet would reduce the rate of aging by 2 to 3%, therefore reducing the risk of premature death by 10 to 15%.
- These results provide evidence that it is possible to slow aging.
Calorie restriction is linked to a change in molecular processes associated with aging, including DNA methylation. It effectively slows down the aging process and extends healthy lifespan in worms, flies and mice. “Our study aims to ensure that a low-calorie diet also slows the biological processes of aging in humans,” explained Daniel Belsky, researcher at the Butler Aging Center at Columbia, in a press release.
A study involving 25% calorie restriction or a normal diet
As part of this work, 220 healthy men and women were divided into two groups. The volunteers were placed on a 25% calorie restriction or had to follow a normal diet for two years. To estimate the biological aging of the volunteers, the researchers examined blood samples taken at the start of the intervention, and after 12 and 24 months of follow-up.
“Humans live long lives, so it is not practical to follow them until we observe differences in disease or survival related to aging. Instead, we rely on biomarkers developed to measure the rate and progression of biological aging over the duration of the research”, said Daniel Belsky.
The authors performed a detailed analysis of DNA methylation marks extracted from white blood cells. These marks are chemical tags on the DNA sequence regulating gene expression and known to change with aging.
Premature death: a low-calorie diet has similar effects to stopping smoking
According to the results of the study, published in the journal Nature Aginga low-calorie diet could help slow the rate of aging by 2 to 3%, which would translate into a 10 to 15% reduction in the risk of premature death, an effect comparable to quitting smoking. However, consuming fewer calories did not significantly change estimates of biological age measured by various “epigenetic clocks.”
“But calorie restriction probably isn’t right for everyone. Our results are important because they provide evidence, from a randomized trial, that it is possible to slow human aging. They also give us insight into the types of effects we might look for in trials of interventions that might be of interest to more people, such as intermittent fasting or dietary restriction,” added Calen Ryan, co-author of the work.
