DECREASE CALORIES- WAY TO GOOD HEALTH

Scientists have long known a fairly reliable way to extend life span in rodents and other lab animals: Reduce the amount of calories they eat by 10 percent to 40 percent.

 Whether it can do the same in people has been an open question. But an intriguing new study suggests that in young and middle-aged adults, chronically restricting calorie intake can have an impact on their health.

Some of the benefits in the calorie restricted group stemmed from the fact that they lost a large amount of weight, on average about 16 pounds over the two years of the study. But the extent to which their metabolic health got better was greater than would have been expected from weight loss alone, suggesting that caloric restriction might have some unique biological effects on disease pathways in the body.

Calorie restriction may be a useful tool for better health and weight loss, but it’s unclear whether the changes in the new study will ultimately translate into longevity and reductions in chronic disease

however, that some people might find calorie restriction feasible if they combined it with other popular dietary strategies like the Mediterranean diet, intermittent fasting or reduced carbohydrate intake.

The new study provided evidence of just how difficult calorie restriction can be. The study participants went through an intensive training program where they learned to cook low-calorie meals, attended group sessions and had regular check-ins with nutrition experts. Still, they were not able to meet even half the goal of a 25 percent cut in calories. And as anyone who has dieted knows, keeping the weight off long-term can be the hardest part

For many people, dieting can be an unpleasant experience. But the researchers found that for many of the subjects, caloric restriction was surprisingly not unbearable. While more people dropped out of the diet group than the control group, the study overall had a high retention rate. The researchers looked at measures of quality of life and discovered that the calorie-restricted group reported better sleep, increased energy and improved mood.