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Blue Springs, MO —
From the first lady’s stand on eating healthy to food processors touting changes promoting healthier ingredients in their products, we’re told almost on a daily basis that our diet affects our health and longevity. But some researchers are finding that it may not be just what you put in your mouth that contributes to your weight and cardiovascular wellbeing, it’s how much you’re eating.
Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis monitored the heart rates of volunteers from 41-65 years old who practiced calorie restriction of 1,400-2,000 calories, along with similar volunteers who ate a conventional Western diet of between 2,000 and 3,000 calories.
What they found was that heart rates were significantly lower in the calorie restricted group and their heart rate variability was significantly higher. Heart rate variability is the muscle’s ability to adjust to changing needs. As we age our heart naturally hardens and pumps less effectively. Ultrasound examinations of the volunteers in the study showed that hearts of those with calorie-restricted diets were more elastic than the control group.
Poor heart rate variability is associated with a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
Calorie restriction is probably not solely responsible for the flexibility of the cardiovascular system, as people who practice calorie restriction tend to live healthy lifestyles in general.
Diastolic function, the active filling phase of the cardiac cycle, declines in most people as they get older. But in this study, researchers found that diastolic function in calorie-restricted people resembled diastolic function in individuals about 15 years younger. Diastolic pressure is the minimum pressure the heart faces and is recorded while the heart is filling between beats. Controlling diastolic blood pressure is important to avoid hypertension, which can lead to other diseases.
Blood pressure of the case group was also significantly lower than the control group eating the standard Western diet as reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Laboratory animals with a restricted calorie intake tend to live 30 to 40 percent longer than those that eat standard diets. Research suggests calorie restriction with optimal nutrition contributes to significant changes in people that are similar to changes seen in animals.
The caloric-restriction subjects ate a nutritionally balanced diet, similar to the Mediterranean diet, with at least 100 percent of the recommended daily intake of each nutrient providing approximately 1,671 kilocalories per day. The average diet was 23 percent protein, 49 percent complex carbohydrates, and 28 percent fat, including 6 percent saturated fat.
From the first lady’s stand on eating healthy to food processors touting changes promoting healthier ingredients in their products, we’re told almost on a daily basis that our diet affects our health and longevity. But some researchers are finding that it may not be just what you put in your mouth that contributes to your weight and cardiovascular wellbeing, it’s how much you’re eating.
Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis monitored the heart rates of volunteers from 41-65 years old who practiced calorie restriction of 1,400-2,000 calories, along with similar volunteers who ate a conventional Western diet of between 2,000 and 3,000 calories.
What they found was that heart rates were significantly lower in the calorie restricted group and their heart rate variability was significantly higher. Heart rate variability is the muscle’s ability to adjust to changing needs. As we age our heart naturally hardens and pumps less effectively. Ultrasound examinations of the volunteers in the study showed that hearts of those with calorie-restricted diets were more elastic than the control group.
Poor heart rate variability is associated with a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
Calorie restriction is probably not solely responsible for the flexibility of the cardiovascular system, as people who practice calorie restriction tend to live healthy lifestyles in general.
Diastolic function, the active filling phase of the cardiac cycle, declines in most people as they get older. But in this study, researchers found that diastolic function in calorie-restricted people resembled diastolic function in individuals about 15 years younger. Diastolic pressure is the minimum pressure the heart faces and is recorded while the heart is filling between beats. Controlling diastolic blood pressure is important to avoid hypertension, which can lead to other diseases.
Blood pressure of the case group was also significantly lower than the control group eating the standard Western diet as reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Laboratory animals with a restricted calorie intake tend to live 30 to 40 percent longer than those that eat standard diets. Research suggests calorie restriction with optimal nutrition contributes to significant changes in people that are similar to changes seen in animals.
The caloric-restriction subjects ate a nutritionally balanced diet, similar to the Mediterranean diet, with at least 100 percent of the recommended daily intake of each nutrient providing approximately 1,671 kilocalories per day. The average diet was 23 percent protein, 49 percent complex carbohydrates, and 28 percent fat, including 6 percent saturated fat.
Research has shown that the traditional Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of heart disease. A recent analysis of more than 1.5 million healthy adults demonstrated that following a Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduced risk of overall and cardiovascular mortality, a reduced incidence of cancer and cancer mortality, and a reduced incidence of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
The Mediterranean diet consists of:
- High olive oil consumption
- High consumption of legumes
- High consumption of unrefined cereals
- High consumption of fruits
- High consumption of vegetables
- Moderate consumption of dairy products (mostly as cheese and yogurt)
- Moderate to high consumption of fish
- Low consumption of meat and meat products
- Moderate wine consumption.
Many humans who practice calorie restriction believe they also will live significantly longer, but this may not be known for several more years as more studies are necessary for definitive results.
On the other hand, adopting parts of the lifestyle do not appear to have any downsides.
