Eat foods low in calories has proven to be a key determinant of fitness in animal conservation, this scientific approach, called calorie restriction, involves the daily intake of about 30% fewer calories, but without detriment to the consumption of adequate levels of vitamins , minerals and other nutrients
In a laboratory at the National Center for Primate Research in Wisconsin, Matthias learns the hard way about the vagaries of weather. He is 28, old age for a rhesus monkey. You are losing your hair, carries a protruding abdomen and his face is furrowed with wrinkles.
In a cage neighbor, Rudy, a lab partner of Matthias, is the very picture of vitality, even though it is slightly older than this. His complexion is thin and lively temperament.
"The difference between the two animals is quite evident," said Ricky Coleman, a researcher at the center and caretaker of both specimens. What is clear is that, due to a simple intervention in the lifestyle of Rudy, he and others like him, can expect to live longer.
This scientific approach, called calorie restriction, involves the daily intake of about 30% fewer calories, but without detriment to the consumption of adequate levels of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. In addition to direct genetic manipulation, calorie restriction is the only strategy known to extend life consistently in different species.
How this diet affects the body so dramatically has been the subject of intense research, which has recently begun to bear fruit, producing a new stream of studies that indicate that the rate of aging is flexible, not fixed, and can be manipulated.
In the past year, the calorie restriction diet has been shown to affect the molecular pathways involved in the progression of Alzheimer's, diabetes, Parkinson's, cancer and heart diseases. In early 2006, researchers involved in studying the effects of calorie restriction diet ventured to declare that it is even more effective than exercise.
Animals like Rudy seem to support that thesis. Recent tests showed that monkeys subjected to calorie restriction, including Canto and Eeyore, two other rhesus research center, are healthier arguably better than Matthias and other peers who have similar ages, but are fed with a traditional diet.
The findings cast doubt on the scientific and ancient cultural belief that the body's decline is inevitable. It also suggests that other factors, including new drugs, could slow the aging process, even when diet alone will prove ineffective in the case of humans.
In that sense, a strong candidate is a new drug synthesized from resveratrol, an antioxidant present in large amounts of red wine, which has been tested in humans and could eventually become the first of a new class of anti-aging drugs.
The pathologist at the University of Michigan, Richard A. Miller estimates that a pill mimicking the effects of calorie restriction could prolong the lives of people at age 112, so healthy. Even some of them, he said, could reach 140 years.
A report generated by the Rand Corporation, a company specializing in the field, says that consumption of the drug would cost an estimated 90 thousand dollars annually, which is very affordable if you consider the savings on medicines to address all the ills that come with age .
"Calorie restriction has the potential to help us identify the aging mechanisms throughout the body," said Richard Weindruch, a gerontologist at the University of Wisconsin, and lead researcher.
While it is true that the average life expectancy has increased significantly, have not been able to counteract the effects of aging in the body, hence the results of this research are key to improving the quality of life for seniors.
In a laboratory at the National Center for Primate Research in Wisconsin, Matthias learns the hard way about the vagaries of weather. He is 28, old age for a rhesus monkey. You are losing your hair, carries a protruding abdomen and his face is furrowed with wrinkles.
In a cage neighbor, Rudy, a lab partner of Matthias, is the very picture of vitality, even though it is slightly older than this. His complexion is thin and lively temperament.
"The difference between the two animals is quite evident," said Ricky Coleman, a researcher at the center and caretaker of both specimens. What is clear is that, due to a simple intervention in the lifestyle of Rudy, he and others like him, can expect to live longer.
This scientific approach, called calorie restriction, involves the daily intake of about 30% fewer calories, but without detriment to the consumption of adequate levels of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. In addition to direct genetic manipulation, calorie restriction is the only strategy known to extend life consistently in different species.
How this diet affects the body so dramatically has been the subject of intense research, which has recently begun to bear fruit, producing a new stream of studies that indicate that the rate of aging is flexible, not fixed, and can be manipulated.
In the past year, the calorie restriction diet has been shown to affect the molecular pathways involved in the progression of Alzheimer's, diabetes, Parkinson's, cancer and heart diseases. In early 2006, researchers involved in studying the effects of calorie restriction diet ventured to declare that it is even more effective than exercise.
Animals like Rudy seem to support that thesis. Recent tests showed that monkeys subjected to calorie restriction, including Canto and Eeyore, two other rhesus research center, are healthier arguably better than Matthias and other peers who have similar ages, but are fed with a traditional diet.
The findings cast doubt on the scientific and ancient cultural belief that the body's decline is inevitable. It also suggests that other factors, including new drugs, could slow the aging process, even when diet alone will prove ineffective in the case of humans.
In that sense, a strong candidate is a new drug synthesized from resveratrol, an antioxidant present in large amounts of red wine, which has been tested in humans and could eventually become the first of a new class of anti-aging drugs.
The pathologist at the University of Michigan, Richard A. Miller estimates that a pill mimicking the effects of calorie restriction could prolong the lives of people at age 112, so healthy. Even some of them, he said, could reach 140 years.
A report generated by the Rand Corporation, a company specializing in the field, says that consumption of the drug would cost an estimated 90 thousand dollars annually, which is very affordable if you consider the savings on medicines to address all the ills that come with age .
"Calorie restriction has the potential to help us identify the aging mechanisms throughout the body," said Richard Weindruch, a gerontologist at the University of Wisconsin, and lead researcher.
While it is true that the average life expectancy has increased significantly, have not been able to counteract the effects of aging in the body, hence the results of this research are key to improving the quality of life for seniors.
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