There is a reason, or perhaps a couple of reasons, why more than 1,000 people have joined the Calorie Restriction
Society, a California group that promotes the idea that eating less
than half the recommended 2,000 calories a day can switch on
physiological changes that slow the aging process. Some of them are crazy. And some of them have read the research, reported in The Guardian and elsewhere, indicating that "Dietary restriction is one of the universal forms of increasing
longevity and this has been shown in everything ranging from yeast all
the way up to dogs." That quote comes from Andrew Dillin, of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in
California, whose team of researchers identified a gene that appears to be a key part of the life-enhancing response to restricting diet. Dillin said the results, published in Nature, lay down
"the cornerstone of defining the molecular pathway that responds to
reduced food intake that results in increased longevity". Read more in The Guardian.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Saturday, May 31, 2025
First of all… I love sportsgeezer because I love… SPORTS! I’m picturing scrawny, calorie-restricted men & women without the strength or energy to run and play.
Second… everything I’ve ever seen about extending your life by adopting healthier behaviors estimates that you can add additional months or maybe a few years to your life. (And that, of course, assumes that you aren’t hit by a bus or whatnot.) I can’t imagine giving up the pleasures of eating to maybe tack on just a little more time.
Longevity sounds good. But I’m so much more interested in QUALITY of life: how long can I keep playing soccer, running, hiking and also eating, drinking and being merry?
Or maybe I’m just dissing the idea because just staying under 1800 calories is tough for me!
I love you, sportsgeezer. Thanks for finding and sharing all the good stuff you post!
I have seen interviews with some of these 1000 calorie people and I’m definitely not motivated to make a change based on my initial impressions. If you don’t like to exercise, this might be the thing for you. I enjoy being very active and have no urge to slow down for a few more years at the end. Interesting article.
Mike
an anorexic by any other name…
Please consider linking to the provocative discussions about the gender bias rampant among the research surrounding the CR crowd.
Kate Taylor’s discussion on Slate (The Medial Examiner 4/24/07) is a good place to start.
http://www.slate.com/id/2164436/?nav=navoa