calorie restriction slows aging

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Natural health disciplines, like most traditions, have been advocating it for ages: eating less is good for your health, and allows you to age better. After animal studies, it is this time on humans that a study claims to confirm the merits of caloric restriction.

Data on the long-term effects of calorie restriction

The CALERIE™ study ( Comprehensive Assessment of Long-Term Effects of Reducing Energy Intake ), conducted over 2 years with 220 participants (non-obese aged 21 to 50), provided a North American multidisciplinary team with data showing thata 25% caloric restriction induces a change in molecular processes related to agingincluding DNA methylation.

This process consists of an epigenetic modification that depends on environmental factors and not on the DNA sequences themselves . This phenomenon, considered to be reversible, is involved in embryogenesis, where it participates in the progressive specialization of pluripotent stem cells into numerous types of cells with varied functions.

But DNA methylation is also involved in the carcinogenèse. Generalized alteration of the DNA methylation profile is a widely documented characteristic of cancer cells. She is too a marker of aging : certain patterns in DNA methylation are strongly correlated with accelerated aging, cognitive decline and poorer physical condition.

An epigenetic clock reacts to calorie restriction

This new study from CALORIE™ scrutinized three different “epigenetic clocks”, biological age assessment tools that use algorithms analyzing changes at many DNA methylation sites. Two showed no difference between the calorie restriction group and the control group.

But the third clock, a biomarker called DunedinPACE, showed differences from which the authors suggest that caloric restriction would indeed induce a 2 to 3% slowdown in the rate of aging . The authors extrapolate a possible reduction in the risk of mortality (of the order of 10 to 15%) by this simple practice. A benefit that is added to the many others already mentioned in our columns about restriction methods such as intermittent fasting…

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Bibliographic references

« Effect of long-term caloric restriction on DNA methylation measures of biological aging in healthy adults from the CALERIE trial », Nature AgingFebruary 2023 – doi: 10.1038/s43587-022-00357-y

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