subject: The Benefits of Calorie Restriction [print this page] Calorie restriction is a type of a controlled diet wherein individuals who practice this particular dietary regimen eat foods with restricted levels of calories but still are rich in nutrients at the same time. Scientists who studied calorie restriction have found out that there was an increase in lifespan among yeast, dogs, rodents and fish that were only given controlled amounts of calories in their food. Currently, continuing studies on primates are being done to find out if calorie restriction may indeed provide the same benefits to them and ultimately to humans but until now, they are not able to see clear cut results due to the length of time they have to have in order to complete the studies.Despite the uncertainties in these studies, there are forms of calorie restriction that are being practiced by a certain culture which comes in the form of the Okinawan diet by the indigenous people in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. People in this side of the world are reported to have the longest life expectancy in the world, which is due, in part to the type of diet they strictly practice.On another side of the world, a small study conducted in the United States at the Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, Missouri followed closely the effects of calorie restriction to human participants. In calorie restriction, they found out that it significantly lowers cholesterol, fasting blood glucose resulting in lower but normal blood pressure. Calorie restriction avoids taking in too much energy but adequate quantities of vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients should be consumed. Body mass index (BMI), which measures someone's weight in relation to height, was recognizably lower for the subjects provided with calorie restriction.Average total blood cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL or bad cholesterol) levels were surprisingly lowered while high density lipoprotein (HDL or good cholesterol) levels peaked. These effects of calorie restriction were found during the first year of practicing the dietary regimen. Fasting plasma insulin levels and fasting plasma glucose levels were also greatly lowered which are tests used primarily done to detect the occurrence of diabetes in individuals.A research paper made in the year 2009 found out that calorie restriction by normal to overweight elderly can actually enhance memory. The diet also brought about decreased levels of insulin and decreased signs of inflammation. Scientists now are convinced that the enhanced memory is pretty much related to decreased insulin levels in the body since increased insulin levels are very much linked to worsening memory and reduced level of cognitive functioning. In primates, it was observed that application of moderate levels of calorie restriction actually halts the development of age-related sarcopenia, which is the degenerative loss of muscle mass and strength associated with aging.For people who may want to learn more about this dietary regimen, it is very important that they contact their primary physicians before they do anything drastic since calorie restriction is not for everyone.
