The calorie restriction diet is credited to Joseph Cordell, a divorce lawyer in Missouri, is not actually his own creation. Cordell has embraced the diet, and he has promoted it to such an extent that his name is now associated with it. But the concept of calorie restriction has been around since the 1930s. Its benefits seem supported by studies on mice, worms and monkeys, but as of 2010, no definitive research was completed to test its effectiveness on humans.
Method
The calorie restriction diet touted by Cordell is a middle point between a low-calorie diet and a very low-calorie diet. MayoClinic.com indicates that you shouldn't attempt a very low-calorie diet except on the advice and under the supervision of your physician. Very low-calorie diets usually involve a caloric intake of between 400 and 800 calories a day. The calorie restriction diet reduces your usual daily caloric intake by 25 to 30 percent. If you regularly consume 1,800 calories per day, calorie restricting would drop that to as little as 1,260 per day. This is more calories than a very low-calorie diet, but somewhat fewer than a low-calorie diet.
Premise
The calorie restriction diet is designed to increase your lifespan. Cordell and other proponents of calorie restriction, including John Holloszy, a professor at Washington University School of Medicine, cite the fact that your body will typically slow down its metabolism if you significantly cut back on calories and it senses that you're starving. They reason that if your metabolism is slower, you'll also age more slowly. They indicate that tests on animals have proved this, but Aetna InteliHealth suggests that a theory that works in mice won't necessarily translate to humans. Mice and humans have different energy needs and lifespans.
Rules
Calorie restriction is a process of phases. Initially, you determine what foods you're eating that are high in calories that don't offer much in the way of nutrition. You eliminate these foods from your diet, then replace them with low-calorie foods that have more nutritional value. Then you add up the calories consumed daily on your revised diet and cut that number by between 25 and 30 percent.
Drawbacks
Very low-calorie diets have some drawbacks, and the calorie restriction diet promoted by Cordell shares many of them. Although the diet aims to pack in nutrient-rich foods that are low in calories, reducing your caloric intake to such an extent can still make it difficult to get all the nutrition your body requires daily. Dean Ornish, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, also notes that cutting your calories to such an extent is likely to leave you hungry and cranky, so it might be difficult to sustain in the long term. Even if research eventually proves that the anti-aging effects of the diet translate to humans, it probably wouldn't have much impact unless you stick with the diet over the course of your lifetime, not just as a weight-loss effort for a prescribed period of time.
Results
Cordell indicates that he lost 40 lbs. on the calorie restriction diet. He's 5 feett 9 inches and now weighs about 130 lbs., according to a report by ABC News. Regardless of the diet's claims regarding extended lifespans, it does appear to help with weight loss. But it restricts calories considerably, so if you're thinking about trying it, speak with your physician first.
Member Comments