Eat less to live long
Ageing is not just skin deep; it’s deeper, and so the moisturizers alone will not help.
Since ageing occurs deeper, at a cellular level, it has been found that eating less can slow this cellular process.
A recent research published in Molecular and Cellular Proteomics offers a glimpse into how reducing calories can impact ageing inside a cell.
Ribosomes manufacture protein in the cell; and researchers found that when ribosomes slow down, the ageing process slows down too, giving ribosomes extra time to repair themselves.
‘The ribosome is a very complex machine, sort of like your car, and it periodically needs maintenance to replace the parts that wear out the fastest,’ said Brigham Young University biochemistry professor and senior author John Price.
‘When tyres wear out, you don’t throw the whole car away and buy new ones. It’s cheaper to replace the tyres.’
The experiment in mice found that the ribosome production slows down due to reduced calorie consumption.
‘When you restrict calorie consumption, there’s almost a linear increase in lifespan,’ Price said. ‘We inferred that the restriction caused real biochemical changes that slowed down the rate of ageing.’
Price further added, ‘The calorie-restricted mice are more energetic and suffered fewer diseases. And it’s not just that they’re living longer, but because they’re better at maintaining their bodies, they’re younger for longer as well.’
Although the study observed a connection between consuming fewer calories and improved lifespan, Price went on to say that people shouldn’t start counting calories and expect to stay forever young.
Calorie restriction has not been tested in humans as an anti-ageing strategy, and the essential message is understanding the importance of taking care of our bodies.
‘Food isn’t just material to be burned — it’s a signal that tells our body and cells how to respond,’ Price said. ‘We’re getting down to the mechanisms of ageing, which may help us make more educated decisions about what we eat.’
Maybe, eatlessness will be a recognized strategy in future to live long and nice!
