Meanwhile, there is a dearth of evidence that caloric restriction slows ageing in humans. Observational studies have found that people of average weight tend to live longest³. Nir Barzilai, a gerontologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, says that the centenarians he studies have led him to believe that genetics is more important than diet and lifestyle. “They’re a chubby bunch,” he says.

A more nuanced picture would suit Ingram, who enjoys an occasional feast of Louisiana crawfish. Ingram says that he looks forward to studies of how diet composition, rather than caloric intake, affects ageing. “Is the human lifespan fixed?” he asks. “I still don’t believe that for a minute.”

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on August 29, 2012.

6 Comments

1. 1. jimfromcanada 06:58 PM 8/29/12

   It looks like more studies are needed with standardization of diets, genetic make up of subjects, etc.

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2. 2. jtdwyer 09:01 AM 8/30/12

   For most Americans, at least, the relevant question is: will reducing fatty junk intake increase longevity?

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3. 3. sunnystrobe 08:00 AM 8/31/12

   The underlying issue here is indeed, not merely the quantity, but also the quality of the food intake; I am constantly amazed at the unscientific omission of the vital factor : species-specific nutrition, especially here on our own home turf, that is, primate nutrition!
   Our evolutionary roots as well as modern medicine regarding antioxidant effects of phytochemicals ( such as dark red resveratrol, clearly point at the importance of our 'colorific' plant food intake, rather than the outdated bias towards calorific assessment, when it comes to our optimal survival nutrition.
   Epigenetics is the focus we need to factor in, before we blame our feeding habits and their negative consequences on 'genetics'. It takes two to tango!
   vide the upcoming
   Colorific Manifesto .
   

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4. 4. bucketofsquid in reply to sunnystrobe 04:58 PM 9/10/12

   "Colorific Manifesto"? I think that perhaps you have embraced unsupported concepts rather than proven fact. The color of food is far less important than what nutritional value it has and a healthy diet does not require specific color ranges of food. It does require certain nutrients.

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5. 5. sunnystrobe in reply to bucketofsquid 10:57 AM 9/27/12

   On the contrary, it has been proven that the antioxidants are mainly to be found in the colour pigments of plants, which act like 'sunscreens'against the oxidative stress of solar radiation. To catch up on the role that colour pigments play in our own nutrition, thanks to our own evolution as primates, I suggest the excellent book by Professor Heber from U.C.L.A.: 'What Color Is Your Diet?"
   The Colorific Manifesto will be freely downloadable as an e book soon. See under Google, "Colour Eating.."

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6. 6. inquisitive-brain in reply to sunnystrobe 01:50 AM 12/21/12

   It also strikes me as bizarre how often/easily species-specific nutrition is over looked!

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