Fasting can delay aging, a researcher has claimed on the back of ‘promising’ trials into the controversial fad of restricting calories.
Dr Rozalyn Anderson, co-editor of a gerontology journal, claimed people are often unaware of the ‘amazing fact’ that wrinkles aren’t inevitable.
She pointed to a landmark study earlier this year which showed adults age 0.6 years slower if they eat 25 per cent less calories each day.
This is the equivalent of a grown man sticking to 1,875 calories over a 24-hour period or 1,500 for a woman – if guidelines are taken into account.
The groundbreaking results were published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, which Dr Anderson edits.
Dr Rozalyn Anderson, co-editor of a gerontology journal, claimed people are often unaware of the ‘amazing fact’ that wrinkles aren’t inevitable
She said: ‘Remarkably, caloric restriction (CR) has been shown to be effective in delaying aging in multiple species and the results in humans look equally promising.
‘Indeed for many studies, CR is used as the gold-standard for enhanced longevity against which new drugs and anti-aging strategies are measured.’
Her comments were published in the journal’s latest special issue, which focused heavily on restrictive diets that target the biology of aging.
The issue contains an array of studies, involving mice and humans, looking at the effects of fasting throughout the day.
Dr Anderson, who leads the Metabolism of Aging Research Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, praised the research.
She said: ‘Ultimately what these studies show is that what you eat influences how you age, and it’s not all bad news.’
‘One of the things that people sometimes miss is the amazing fact that aging can be altered; caloric restriction research proves this.’
Scientists first stumbled across the longevity effect of reducing calories more than 80 years ago in studies on rodents.
Advances in technology have allowed scientists to make even further progress in confirming the links with the widely criticised diets.
Concerns have been raised in recent years that the diet can actually have the opposite effect – by slowing down metabolism.
And critics also believe restricting calories can lead to fatigue, nutrient deficiencies and even harm fertility in men and women.
She pointed to a landmark study earlier this year which showed adults age 0.6 years slower if they eat 25 per cent less calories each day
But studies have repeatedly found the diet to lower the risk of killer diseases including cancer, heart disease and even diabetes.
A study published in May, called CALERIE, showed the most stark effects of a low calorie diet on lifespan.
Those on the controvesial diet saw their biological age increase by 0.11 years. In contrast, those eating normally aged by 0.71 years.
Dr Anderson was also behind promising research in January that revealed fasting in middle age can help people to live longer.
Restricting the food we put into our bodies appears to make them more able to fight off the illnesses that accompany old age, the study found.
‘Cutting your calories delays ageing, probably because the body uses energy from food differently to become more resilient,’ she said at the time.
‘By targeting aging itself we could, instead of fighting cancer or cardiovascular disease individually, target the full spectrum of disease simultaneously.’
And previous research from the same university found rhesus monkeys given 20 per cent less food lived nine years beyond the average lifespan.