title: What are the roles of calorie restriction and diet quality in promoting healthy longevity?
abstract: Epidemiological and experimental data indicate that diet plays a central role in the pathogenesis of many age-associated chronic diseases, and in the biology of aging itself. Data from several animal studies suggest that the degree and time of calorie restriction (CR) onset, the timing of food intake as well as diet composition, play major roles in promoting health and longevity, breaking the old dogma that only calorie intake is important in extending healthy lifespan. Data from human studies indicate that long-term CR with adequate intake of nutrients results in several metabolic adaptations that reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Moreover, CR opposes the expected age-associated alterations in myocardial stiffness, autonomic function, and gene expression in the human skeletal muscle. However, it is possible that some of the beneficial effects on metabolic health are not entirely due to CR, but to the high quality diets consumed by the CR practitioners, as suggested by data collected in individuals consuming strict vegan diets. More studies are needed to understand the interactions among single nutrient modifications (e.g. protein/aminoacid, fatty acids, vitamins, phytochemicals, and minerals), the degree of CR and the frequency of food consumption in modulating anti-aging metabolic and molecular pathways, and in the prevention of age-associated diseases.
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science and Center for Human Nutrition, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Food and Human Nutrition Science, University Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Wanda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rizza
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science and Center for Human Nutrition, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University of Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Veronese
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science and Center for Human Nutrition, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Salerno Medical School, Salerno, Italy; CEINGE Biotecnologie Avanzate, Napoli, Italy. Electronic address: lfontana@dom.wustl.edu.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fontana
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D031204:Caloric Restriction; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008019:Life Style; D008136:Longevity; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Calorie restriction; Diet quality; Disease prevention; Health; Lifespan; Vegetarian diet