title: The impact of nutrients on the aging rate: A complex interaction of demographic, environmental and genetic factors.
abstract: Nutrition has a strong influence on the health status of the elderly, with many dietary components associated to either an increased risk of disease or to an improvement of the quality of life and to a delay of age-related pathologies. A direct effect of a reduced caloric intake on the delay of aging phenotypes is documented in several organisms. The role of nutrients in the regulation of human lifespan is not easy to disentangle, influenced by a complex interaction of nutrition with environmental and genetic factors. The individual genetic background is fundamental for mediating the effects of nutritional components on aging. Classical genetic factors able to influence nutrient metabolism are considered those belonging to insulin/insulin growth factor (INS/IGF-1) signaling, TOR signaling and Sirtuins, but also genes involved in inflammatory/immune response and antioxidant activity can have a major role. Considering the worldwide increasing interest in nutrition to prevent age related diseases and achieve a healthy aging, in this review we will discuss this complex interaction, in the light of metabolic changes occurring with aging, with the aim of shedding a light on the enormous complexity of the metabolic scenario underlying longevity phenotype.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Biology and Earth Sciences, Ponte Pietro Bucci cubo 4C, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy. Electronic address: serena.dato@unical.it.
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dato
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Biology and Earth Sciences, Ponte Pietro Bucci cubo 4C, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy. Electronic address: dina.bellizzi@unical.it.
authors.forename: Dina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bellizzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Biology and Earth Sciences, Ponte Pietro Bucci cubo 4C, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy. Electronic address: pinarose@unical.it.
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Biology and Earth Sciences, Ponte Pietro Bucci cubo 4C, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy. Electronic address: giuseppe.passarino@unical.it.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Passarino
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
keywords: Dietary interventions; Epigenetics; Health span; Human longevity; Nutrition