>>Many animals, like some parrots, live longer being fed a diet that they
>>would not have eaten in nature.  To say that there can be no improvement
>>over the diet in nature is just a theory in the case of man.
>
>Very interesting about the parrots. I wasn't aware of any such example
>other than studies on caloric restriction. How's it known that diet is the
>critical factor in living longer and not something else like reduced
>disease or predation?
>
I'm glad you asked, because I don't know.  I thought about that after
posting.  It could be that the decrease in energy expenditure living in a
cage could lengthen life span.
Paul Getty
Morehead City, NC
[log in to unmask]