Wade,

What is there to debate?????? I'm not going to spend the next 24 hours
quoting and referencing the thousands of studies showing positive benefits both in
terms of health improvements and life extension (or rather, youth extension)
benefits of various forms of CR, but I did look up just a few to make my point.

Many of those following some version of a Paleo type eating plan become
figuratively nauseated upon hearing such blanket "truths" as "the consumption of
saturated fats causes heart disease and diabetes." And Dr. Atkins must turn over
in his grave when people announce that his diet consists of bacon, cheese and
fatty meats with zero carbs and no fruits and vegetables. By the same token,
there is so much misinformation about the whole concept of Caloric Restriction
that I find it similarly frustrating. Many people think CR means that 1) It
must be started in infancy to be effective, (untrue) and, 2) Animals maintained
on this regimen live in a state of emaciated near starvation. (also untrue)
The salient point here is that any human/animal eating fewer calories than it
might otherwise consume, is in a state of CR. In other words, if a mouse or
person is 50% above ideal body weight, and embarks on a "diet" to lose weight,
that individual is calorically restricted. Animals/people who start out
overweight, and lose any amount of that weight, are in a CR state. One does not have
to be underweight to be in CR. In fact, taking 2 groups of subjects, group A,
normal weight fed less food, and group B, overweight and fed less food, group B
will show greater longevity/health benefits even while at normal or above
normal weight! The reason for this phenomenon is that the benefits of CR manifest
not as a result of end weight, but as a result of amount of food consumed.
Therefore, those of us who have a tendency to put on weight, but eat less, lose
weight and keep it off, will have a longevity/health advantage over those who
can eat all the food they want and stay slim. Please see Walford, Beyond the
120 Year Diet for thorough discussion of this concept.

I find it the height of irony that nearly every paper on CR states that such
studies have never been done on humans, because few, if any, would ever have
the fortitude to maintain a reduced calorie diet long term. HOWEVER, what are
we overweight folks told until we want to scream? EAT LESS FOOD! Why is it
deemed OK for fat folks to be expected to suffer constant hunger while naturally
thin people are admonished that they will never be able to stick to eating
fewer calories! (Rhetorical question!)

So, what is there to debate? Yes, you are right- there is nothing more to
debate, at least as far as I am concerned. Personally, I have to eat a VERY low
calorie diet (under 1000 calories- even eating Paleo) in order to lose and
maintain a close to but still above normal weight. But I have learned not to envy
those who can stay slim no matter what they eat. It is *I*, I am convinced,
who will outlive the naturally slim, as long as I maintain my calorically
restricted, Paleo type diet, with all its well known health benefits. So, you eat
your unrestricted diet, and I'll eat my CR diet, and we'll see who gets to the
finish line last, and healthiest!

from:
Reversing Aging Rapidly With Short-Term Calorie Restriction

>Stephen Spindler: I think the conclusion you can reach from the paper is
that even in very old animals, caloric restriction will very rapidly produce most
of the gene expression effects that you see in long-term calorie-restricted
animals. That means, I think, that even in the short-term, older people may be
able to benefit rapidly from switching to a calorically-restricted diet, and
that fits with some of the information that has been in the literature for
years. For instance, type II diabetics improve when they start under-eating. Their
blood glucose levels improve. Their insulin sensitivity improves. Their
general health improves, even before the fat mass, for instance, is depleted.
-------------
from:
Caloric restriction and aging in primates: Relevance to humans and possible
CR mimetics.

In addition to prolonging lifespan, CR also prevents or delays the onset of
age-related disease and maintains many physiological functions at more youthful
levels. Studies in longer-lived species, specifically rhesus and squirrel
monkeys, have been underway since the late 1980s. The studies in nonhuman
primates are beginning to yield valuable information suggesting that the effect of CR
on aging is universal across species and that this nutritional paradigm will
have similar effects in humans.
-----------
from:
Caloric restriction

CR works when started at any age except in the very young, when growth is
very important and rapid.
-------------
from:
Caloric Restriction

Cutting back calories, termed caloric restriction, appears to slow
age-related changes in the brain and helps ward off brain destruction from neurological
ailments.  .  .  . In addition to extending lifespan, specific animal research
shows that the diet benefits the brain and its function. For example, caloric
restriction improves the lagging performance of aged rodents on learning,
memory and coordination tasks.
----------------
from:
Meal skipping helps rodents resist diabetes, brain damage

A new mouse study suggests fasting every other day can help fend off diabetes
and protect brain neurons as well as or better than either vigorous exercise
or caloric restriction. The findings also suggest that reduced meal frequency
can produce these beneficial effects even if the animals gorged when they did
eat, according the investigators at the National Institute on Aging (NIA).

Maddy Mason
Hudson Valley, NY

In a message dated 2/24/2004 4:00:52 PM Eastern Standard Time, Wade Reeser