Calorie-Restricted Diet May Slow Aging, Study Shows

Eating less can actually slow aging, according to researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center.

For a recent study, neuroscientists found that calorie-reduced diets stopped the normal rise and fall in activity levels of close to 900 different genes linked to aging and memory formation in the brain.

In a presentation prepared for the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 17, researchers found that experimental results conducted on Female mice somehow suggested that diets with fewer calories derived from carbohydrates were likely to deter some aspects of aging and chronic diseases in mammals, including humans.

"Our study shows how calorie restriction practically arrests gene expression levels involved in the aging phenotype -- how some genes determine the behavior of mice, people, and other mammals as they get old," said senior study investigator and NYU Langone neuroscientist, Stephen D. Ginsberg, PhD., in a news release. 

As restrictive dietary regimens have been known to prolong the lives of rodents and other mammals, their effects in humans had not been as well-understood. Researchers found that this type of calorie-restricting diet can potentially prevent some aspects of diseases, including aging.

However, Ginsberg also cautioned that this type of diet should not be viewed as a "fountain of youth," but rather evidence that certain healthy diets can boost physical wellness and train brain health, as well.