I Pain & Diet: What

You Don't fat Can

Make You Ache
I Lowering Your Blood
Pressure: Naturally
I The Beauty Vitamin
For Vibrant Skin
I foods That Protect
Against f nvironmental
Chemicals
I Quick!
Inches-Off
exercise
LIFESPANS
By NICOLAS MARTIN
lender
What do cambtlOpes?
Pritikin, Atkins, spirulina,
phenylalanine, cellulose,
cider vinegar, Vitamin 8
6
,
starch blocker, and
Brinda// berries have in
common? They are all
bona fide soldiers in the
American war against
that greatest of all social
stigmas: FAT.
\N
E STRETCH,
POUND, MAS-
SAGE, starve,
distract, chas-
tise, and commit all sorts of other insults
against ourselves in the obsessive quest for
sex appeal. We gobble up the latest fad diet
book as we might a gluttonous feast, and we
make celebrities of the Prophets of Slim
who inhabit televisionland.
As it happens, we might be doing it all
for very good reasons. One of the oldest
and richest subjects for gerontology
research is the relationship of body weight
to lifespan. Extending as far back as the
1920s, impressive research has been com-
piled showing that thinness contributes to
maximum longevity and health. More re-
cent studies confirm these findings and
provide further clues to how and why
skinny bodies may live longer.
Clive M. Mccay performed the classic
studi which established that a reduced
calorie diet extended the life span of lab
rats. By underfeeding the animals the
Cornell researcher was able to drastically
boost their average longevity, even be-
52 BESTWAYS November 1985
yond the age thought to be the maximum
lifespan of the breed. Mccays long-lived
rats were fed a diet containing normal
levels of essential nutrients but their
caloric intake was cut by about one-third.
The underfed (but nutritionally sup-
plemented) rodents were able to remain
physically active and mentally alert far
longer than those fed normally, and they
retained a youthful appearance even after
some of the rats fed a "normal" diet had
become senile.
One objective of Mccays studies was
to determine the relationship between
growth and aging. As was suspected, the
extended lifespan of the underfed rats was
attributable in part to slowed maturation.
On a calorically restricted regimen it took
much longer for the animals to achieve
full adult growth, though it did not impair
intellectual development. They were sex-
ually active and able to safely reproduce at
a much later age. One writer compared
McCay's rats to "a 90-year-old human
with the physic.al appearance of a teen-
ager ... "
The anti-aging benefits of caloric re-
strict ion have more recently been confirm-
ed using rats and several other species of
animals. In the 1960s and seventies, Mor-
ris Ross of the Institute for Cancer Re-
search extended lifespan from about 1000
days in fully fed rats to 1600 days in
underfed rats fed extra nutrients, an in-
crease of roughly 60 percent! ln the 1940s
it was shown that caloric reduction
through intermittent fasting could also in-
crease rat Lifespan by 20-30 percent. In a
more recent study the life extension effects
of intermittent fasting were even greater.
UCLA scientists, including Roy Wal-
ford, proved for the first time that inter-
mittent fasting could increase animal
lifespan even when started at a human
equivalent of about 30 years. In previous
studies, caloric restriction had begun at
the time of weaning.
Scientists are now in agreement that
caloric restriction can increase the average
lifespan of a species, though they disagree
whether maximum lifespan can also be en-
hanced.
Underfed animals benefit from signif-
icantly enhanced immune function and a
reduction in harmful autoimmune activi-
ty, including that which retards brain
function. In rats whose lives have been ex-
tended by this method, far fewer brain
receptors are lost than in rats who age
"normally." Underfeeding completely
prevents breast cancer in animals prone to
developing the disease. It also drastically
reduces the incidence of kidney di ease,
lymph cancer, arteriosclerosis and heart
disease, and prevents the diminution of
liver function.
The application of caloric ''undernutri-
tion" to humans is far more controversial
than to animals. Even to this day, main-
stream nutritionists refer to caloric restric-
tion as "starvation" or "malnutrition,"
despite the fact that underfed animals live
much longer and healthier. The official
doctrine has been that "normal" or even
slightly overweight would not present a
substantial health hazard. One well-
known health promoter has even argued
that it was healthier to be overweight.
Naturally, this fellow sports a good-sized
belly.
Support for the heavier-is-acceptable
view is eroding as the data on disease and
lifespan accumulate. Even slighlly over-
weight people tend to have a higher in-
cidence of hypertension, diabetes, heart
disease, breast, uterine, colon, rectum,
and prostate cancer. Also, the incidence
of gallstones, arthritis, gout and osteo-
porosis is greater among the overweight.
(I must admit that I have always had dif-
ficulty with the notion that being over-
weight constituted, in and of itself, a
disease, any more than smoking cigarettes
is a disease. Fatness can certainly lead to
di ease, as can smoking, but it makes no
more sense to talk about a heavy per on
having "obesity" than to refer LO a
moker as having " cigaretosis. ")
Re earcher who have examined the
habits of especially long-lived indi viduals
around the world have consistently found
them to possess relatively light eating
habits. Thi s along with the animal tudies
and the evidence that thinner people have
less disea e, has led an increasing number
of health specialists lo advocate more
moderate eating habits. There is almost
universal consensus that Ameri cans
would profit from a reduction of dietary
fat and an increase in nutritiou , high-
fiber foods like fruits and vegetable . It is
not at all clear, a many have claimed, that
a switch to vegetable or fish oil would im-
prove overall health or lifespan. It is the
total volume of fat intake, not the source,
which is the real key.
IL is not surprising that Roy Walford is
a leading figure in the debate over calories
and lifespan. Be ide his pioneering work
with animals in caloric restriction, Wal-
ford is a leading advocate of direct inter-
vention to increa e human life pan.
Walford' s personal "undernulrilion
without malnutrition" program consists
of regular intermittent fasting (typically,
two days a week) combined with supple-
mentation with an array of nutrients. The
objective, he explains, is to consume a
daily average of 1,500 to 2,000 calories
from a diet high in nutritious complex
carbohydrates and low in fat and protein.
Fasting is not an essential aspect of the
program but it makes non-fasting days
more exciting by allowing for a bit larger
meals.
To maintain optimal nutrition and anti-
oxidant protection despite reduced cal-
''
.. .long-lived
individuals ...
have consistently
.. . relatively
light eating
habits.
11
ories Walford includes daily supplements
containing Vitamins E and C, pantothenic
acid, DMAE, selenium, BHT, and the
amino acid cysteine. His exerci se program
consists of running 12 miles and swim-
ming 1-2 miles per week, which he believes
might reduce the age-related decline of
both the brain and thebody.
While reflec ' ng the great life exten ion
potential of caloric restriction, the animal
studies also signal a note of caution.
When undernutrition is affected too
quickly or too everely it has a markedly
negative influence on lifespan. Long-term
fasting, for example, reduces animal life-
span rather than increasing it. Obviou ly,
a diet which reduces essential nutrients as
well as the recommended caloric restric-
tion falls into the category of starvation
and will certainly not induce health or
Ii fespan benefits.
The majority of calories subtracted in
underfeeding are from fat. Walford rec-
ommend a three-quarters reduction of
fat in the American diet, down to about 10
percent of total calories. He al o advo-
cates that a moderate 20-25 percent of
calorie come from protein and the rest
from carbohydrates.
A program similar to Walford's must
be undertaken very slowly and with metic-
ulous attention to the phy iologic conse-
quences, especially for someone over 35 .
When animals are subjected to a rapid or
radical deprivation of calories or to ex-
cessively rugged exercise, their health and
lifespan suffer.
A very moderate weight reduction of
one pound per month would be sufficient-
ly afe for most people, but even that
should be undertaken under the watchful
eye of a sympathetic health professional .
It is essential that a thorough nutrient sup-
plementation program accompany any re-
duction in total food or calorie . While
the anti-aging benefits of exercise are
poorly documented, it can certainly assist
in the effort to lose weight and develop the
sort of will power necessary to maintain a
demanding low calorie diet. Walking or
swimming are excellent workouts for
longevi ts of any age, but participants
over age 35 should consult an exercise
specialist before initiating a more ag-
gre sive chedule.
I have not yet touched upon the most
important element in caloric restriction,
or any other longevity program, which is
simply wisdom. We who adopt strategies
for extending lifespan are charting new
water . Animal studies are critically im-
portant for biological under landing but
they do not fully replace direct human
studies. The beliefs and experiences of a
single individual- even a respected scien-
tist- are not necessarily appropriate for a
larger population. The best life extension
program is one which seems safe and com-
fortable for you, and i based on the best
scientific evidence.
For more complete di scus ions of the
potential benefits and hazards of caloric
restriction I would recommend reading
Roy Walford's Maximum Life Span and
Prolongevity 11, by science writer Albert
Rosenfeld. 0
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BESTWAYS November 1985 53