Cutting calories can beat dementia, says experts
STICKING to a low-calorie diet from middle age is the key to living a long and healthy life, experts say.
It not only slows the ageing process but can stave off a host of diseases including cancer and dementia.
A study suggests that men who normally eat 2,500 calories a day should cut back to around 2,000. Women used to 2,000 calories should aim at around 1,600.
Researcher Dr Stephen Ginsberg told the Daily Express that his “exciting” breakthrough could even lead to a daily pill which would mimic the effects of a low-calorie diet when combined with exercise and a general healthy living regime.
These studies have told us the pathways that caloric restriction impacts
The researchers say that calorie-reduced diets cut the number of changes in activity levels of genes linked to ageing and memory.
The results suggest that diets with fewer calories derived from carbohydrates can hold off aspects of ageing and chronic diseases like dementia.
Dr Ginsberg, who led the study at New York University, added: “Animals have been shown to live longer and have less incidence of age-related diseases. In humans that is things like high blood pressure, cancer and heart disease.
“These studies have told us the pathways that caloric restriction impacts.”
In the research, presented at the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting in Washington DC, female mice were fed food pellets that had 30 per cent fewer calories than those fed to others.
Analysis of the area of the brain affected earliest in Alzheimer’s disease was carried out on the two groups.
Dr Ginsberg said the mice on a normal diet went through 2,600 gene changes by the age of 15 months but those on the calorie restriction diet experienced 900 fewer.
He said: “Mother Nature has a programme for ageing and calorie restriction really stopped it for a lot of the genes. We are not going to cheat ageing – this is not the ‘fountain of youth’.
“But I think we can make ageing easier on individuals and the quality of life they have. I think that we will see healthful and extended lifespan.” Dr Ginsberg said the 30 per cent calorie reduction in mice translated to an approximate 18 per cent reduction in humans. He added: “We are talking long-term dietary remediation which means it is a relativity mild restriction for a sustained period of time.”
Changes to diet and lifestyle needed to be made by early middle age, he said, adding: “We don’t necessarily want to do this when someone is a senior citizen, it needs to be given when it is going to be impactful on lifespan.” A pill could one day mimic the effect, he said. “We want to target our therapeutics to these gene pathways so we could create a drug rather than rely on caloric restriction,” he explained.
“The beauty of this is that you could still choose as a lifestyle choice to restrict your calories but I think our therapeutic approach could be a daily tablet. A lot of people don’t want to have that restricting dieting even though it is a healthful approach.”
Dr Eric Karran of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said more studies would be needed.
He said: “The best way to maintain a healthy brain into older age is to not smoke, keep a healthy weight, eat a balanced diet, drink only in moderation and keep high blood pressure and cholesterol in check.”
