On 08/12/98 08:57:06 several people responded to my post:

>Aren't all calorie restricting studies dealing with people on a
>normal diet?
No.  By "normal" I assume you mean a Standard American Diet.  Those
are food/diet restriction for rapid weight loss, not high
nutrition/low calories for life extension.

>And wouldn't to them calorie restricting mean cutting back on the
>carbs?
To _them_, probably (the SAD's).  But the carbs in a SAD diet are
breads, cookies, and other starchy, high GI food stuffs.  The type of
carbs you eat is very important, to Paleo/CR success.  The main body
of commonly accepted human CR data comes from the 2 year Biosphere II
study.  They consumed mostly carbs, low fat, moderate protein.
Important to note, tho, is that the total amount of carbs was reduced
from a SAD diet, because total calories were reduced.  The %'s of
carbs, proteins, and fats you are talking about are not as important
as the absolute amounts, on any diet.

>One of the advantages of a paleo diet is no counting.
I do not count calories.  I watch my weight, and eat a highly
nutritious diet.

>Don.
-----------------
>I believe that a paleo diet optimizes the body's ability to
>utilize food, so that one can "get away with" eating more of this
>kind of food...
Yes.  This is one primary mechanism behind CR (and I believe Paleo).
When a typical white European male (only data I have) is eating ~2,500
cals his metabolic efficiency is 33%; if he eats more (nearing 3,000)
is goes down to ~30%.  OTOH, if he consistently eats ~1,800 for a long
time, it can reach levels as high as 50%.  Metabolic efficiency refers
to the amount of energy the body uses out of the total food energy
consumed.  The hi & lo cal's here appear to be limits.  In the case of
CR (and Paleo, if it is also CR), the metabolic rate also slows down.
This is probably one mechanism behind the life extension benefits of
CR.

Plus, by eating a highly nutritious diet, the body is naturally more
satisfied with less calories.  I believe a good Paleo diet achieves
this effect, just as in CR.

James
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