Diet plays a major role in how our bodies age, so researchers have launched a series of research to understand the relationship between calories and food and how the body works. Many studies in animals have revealed that calorie restriction increases lifespan, an effect that is also valid in humans.
"There are many reasons why reducing calories may affect longevity, but this theory is still under study," says Waylon Hastings, a researcher at the Tulane School of Medicine.
Further, he explains in theory that everything that happens in the cell from food plays an important role for this theory.
"When energy is used up inside a cell, the waste from that process causes oxidative stress that damages DNA and destroys the cell. "When a person's cell consumes less energy from the caloric deficit, there is less waste and the cell does not break down as quickly," explains Hastings.
In continuation of this process, it is emphasized that every cell that dies is reproduced by the body among the DNA material. Age, stress, disease, diet and genetic material all have their impact on cell reproduction.
To explore these effects, 175 people were studied for 24 months on a calorie-restricted diet.
After a year on the low-calorie diet, the participants lost the so-called telomeres that contain the cell's genetic material faster than people on a standard diet. But after two years when their weight was normalized, the opposite was happening.
"This study shows how complex is calorie reduction and its effects on the body," the researchers said.
In conclusion, more studies are required to understand how calories can extend people's lives, but this study has revealed some details that encourage diets that are essentially calorie-reduced.
