title: The Japanese diet from 1975 delays senescence and prolongs life span in SAMP8 mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Life expectancy in Japan is high, suggesting that the Japanese diet, Nihon shoku (Japanese food), has significant health benefits. However, these benefits have been called into question over the past 50 y, during which time the Japanese diet has become increasingly Westernized. The aim of the present study was to focus on senescence delay and to examine the effects of Japanese diets from different years to identify which Japanese diet is most effective in enhancing life expectancy and delaying senescence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Weekly menus from the years 1960, 1975, 1990, and 2005 were reproduced based on the National Health and Nutrition Survey in Japan and prepared as powdered foods. The senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice were fed standard laboratory chow supplemented with a 30% mix of Japanese meals from various years ad libitum throughout their lifetime. Additionally, the control group was given standard laboratory chow only, to examine the development of mice reared under standard conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the group that ingested the traditional 1975 Japanese diet, life span was prolonged, senescence was delayed, and learning and memory capacities were maintained compared with the group fed the 2005 Japanese diet. The life span of the group that ingested the 1990 Japanese diet showed a tendency to be longer than SAMP8 mice fed the 2005 diet.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the present study suggested that the traditional Japanese diet is more effective in enhancing life expectancy and delaying senescence than the current Japanese diet.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food and Biomolecular Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazushi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food and Biomolecular Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Shuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: E
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food and Biomolecular Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hatakeyama
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food and Biomolecular Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food and Biomolecular Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Taro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Honma
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Welfare Science, Okayama Prefectural University, Soja, Okayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jibu
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Welfare Science, Okayama Prefectural University, Soja, Okayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawakami
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food and Biomolecular Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. Electronic address: Tsudukit@m.tohoku.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuduki
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004032:Diet / Q000266:history; D066273:Diet, Western; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D049673:History, 20th Century; D007564:Japan; D007858:Learning; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains
keywords: Japanese diet; Japanese food; Life span; SAMP8; Senescence; Senescence-accelerated mice