Eat a little less, live longer, study suggests

Eat a little less, live longer, study suggests


Years of research on calorie restriction and longevity mean we know that limiting how many calories a worm consumes affects not only its waistline, but also its lifespan. Now, research from Yale University shows a similar effect in humans.

In the study of 200 participants, scientists asked a number of them to limit their caloric intake by 14%. Others continued to eat as usual. Then, over a period of two years, researchers analyzed the long-term health effects, hoping to shed light on how calorie restriction affects the body specifically, and what mechanisms lead to improved health.

As humans age, the thymus, a gland that produces the T cells that create the body’s immune response, ages at a rate faster than other organs. By the time a healthy adult reaches 40 years of age, the thymus is “fatty” and functioning suboptimally. When these essential components of the immune system stop being produced, you can feel it.

Using an MRI, researchers explored the functional differences between participants who restricted their caloric intake, and those who didn’t. The restricted-calorie group’s thymuses had less fat and and better function after two years, making even more T cells than they did when the study began.

The thymuses of those who ate as usual showed no change, researchers found.

Taking a closer look, the researchers noticed it wasn’t just the T cells that mattered, but specific types of immune cells in fat. Although the mechanics helped researchers better understand the relationship between the metabolic and immune systems, the takeaway for most people is much simpler: Eat a little less, and your immune-metabolic system will function better.

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