Dietary interventions to extend life span and health span based on calorie restriction

J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2010 Jul;65(7):695-703. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glq042. Epub 2010 Apr 6.

Abstract

The societal impact of obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic disorders continues to rise despite increasing evidence of their negative long-term consequences on health span, longevity, and aging. Unfortunately, dietary management and exercise frequently fail as remedies, underscoring the need for the development of alternative interventions to successfully treat metabolic disorders and enhance life span and health span. Using calorie restriction (CR)-which is well known to improve both health and longevity in controlled studies-as their benchmark, gerontologists are coming closer to identifying dietary and pharmacological therapies that may be applicable to aging humans. This review covers some of the more promising interventions targeted to affect pathways implicated in the aging process as well as variations on classical CR that may be better suited to human adaptation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aging / physiology
  • Animals
  • Antioxidants / pharmacology
  • Caloric Restriction*
  • Glucose / metabolism
  • Health*
  • Humans
  • Insulin / physiology
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / physiology
  • Longevity / physiology*
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / physiology
  • Sirtuins / physiology
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases

Substances

  • Antioxidants
  • Insulin
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • MTOR protein, human
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • Sirtuins
  • Glucose