title: New Horizons: Dietary protein, ageing and the Okinawan ratio.
abstract: Nutrition has profound effects on ageing and lifespan. Caloric restriction is the major nutritional intervention that historically has been shown to influence lifespan and/or healthspan in many animal models. Studies have suggested that a reduction in protein intake can also increase lifespan, albeit not as dramatically as caloric restriction. More recent research based on nutritional geometry has attempted to define the effects of nutrition on ageing over a broad landscape of dietary macronutrients and energy content. Such studies in insects and mice indicate that animals with ad libitum access to low-protein, high-carbohydrate diets have longest lifespans. Remarkably, the optimum content and ratio of dietary protein to carbohydrates for ageing in experimental animals are almost identical to those in the traditional diets of the long-lived people on the island of Okinawa.
authors.affiliation: Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia Centre for Education and Research on Ageing, Ageing and Alzheimers Institute and the ANZAC Research Institute, Concord Hospital and University of Sydney, Concord, Australia.
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Le Couteur
authors.affiliation: Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Solon-Biet
authors.affiliation: Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Devin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wahl
authors.affiliation: Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia Centre for Education and Research on Ageing, Ageing and Alzheimers Institute and the ANZAC Research Institute, Concord Hospital and University of Sydney, Concord, Australia.
authors.forename: Victoria C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Cogger
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Kuakini Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
authors.forename: Bradley J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Willcox
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Kuakini Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Department of Human Welfare, Okinawa International University, Ginowan, Japan.
authors.forename: D Craig
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Willcox
authors.affiliation: Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raubenheimer
authors.affiliation: Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Simpson
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D031204:Caloric Restriction; D018753:Diet, Protein-Restricted; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008017:Life Expectancy; D023421:Models, Animal; D009752:Nutritional Status
chemical_list: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004044:Dietary Proteins
keywords: Okinawa; ageing biology; caloric restriction; low-protein, high-carbohydrate diets; older people; protein restriction