The overabundance of food in modern society has solved many problems of illness and malnutrition and created other health problems. Caloric restriction is a way to imitate the hunter-gatherer lifestyle which was how humans lived for more than 99 percent of our history, in which intermittent periods of restricted food supply were the norm. Research is producing promising results on the use of calorie restriction for improving health and longevity.
Longevity
Caloric restriction causes a decrease in body temperature which has a beneficial effect on health and longevity, according to a study published in the 2010 "Aging Research Reviews." The study describes that low body temperature is independently associated with increased longevity and that there is also a synergistic effect between caloric restriction and low body temperature whereby low body temperature mediates the effects of caloric restriction. Caloric restriction together with low body temperature are attributed with reducing low-level inflammation and cellular damage from oxidation throughout the body. The researchers conclude that, with more research, it may become possible to program the aging process by taking advantage of environmental influences at critical periods of early development.
Learning and Memory
Calorie restriction is known to preserve memory and learning capacity in the brain, according to a 2005 study published in "Neurobiology of Aging." The study sought to understand the mechanism by which this happens by looking into a possible connection between a substance called brain derived neurotrophic factor, which enhances learning and memory, and caloric restriction. The researchers found that calorie restricted diets resulted in slightly higher levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor in middle and older age but did not significantly increase levels over the entire lifespan. The researchers concluded that while caloric restriction enhances memory and learning, the effect is not directly related to decreased levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor resulting from calorie-restricted diets.
Stress
Caloric restriction exerts a mild amount of stress on the body that results in a protective and overall beneficial response. This phenomenon is known as hormesis and is defined by an overcompensation to a mild stress, which in the case of caloric restriction leads to increased resilience to diseases such as cancer, stroke, coronary heart disease, autoimmune disease, allergy, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, as well as improved memory and increased lifespan, according to a study published in the 2010 "Journal of Physiological Anthropology." One of the keys to the success of caloric restriction, explains the study, is maintenance of optimal nutritional status and avoiding malnutrition while reducing caloric intake.
