Friday, September 26, 2008
The fountain of youth...but at what cost?
Thus far, calorie restriction (low calories, balanced diet) is the only scientific intervention we know about that appears to increase people's life span. So what's the catch-- besides having to be extremely strict about what you eat? Might a person, for example, live a long time but have fragile bones that have been compromised by a low-cal diet?
Nope, according to a new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. A 6-month study of 46 young, non-obese adults found that the bones of those who practiced 25% calorie restriction from baseline energy needs, as well as those who had a 25% energy deficit through diet and exercise, were in fine shape bone-wise at the end of the intervention. All groups took pains to preserve their calcium intake through diet, not supplements. The researchers acknowledge, of course, that a test of longer duration is needed.
What do you think of this practice? Do you have patients who practice calorie restriction, and if so, how do you counsel them about staying healthy? Does this study ease your mind at all about potential adverse effects to the practice?
(For more interesting reading on calorie restriction, check out this profile of a couple who practice it in Philadelphia Magazine, and this article in Slate which argues that calorie restriction is an eating disorder.)
Labels: bone, diet calorie restriction
posted by Jessica Berthold at
10:07 AM
ACP Internist hosted Grand Rounds on June 16, wrapping up the best of the medical blogosphere. Click here for the complete wrap-up.
Contact ACP Internist
Send comments to ACP Internist staff at acpinternist@acponline.org.
Previous Posts
- Whole body CT scans are SO last year...
- Are there any undecided voters out there?
- Saying no to generic doughnuts
- Americans taking fewer drugs
- Medical news of the obvious
- New CDC testing recommendations for Hep B
- A diabetes therapy from the future
- Your patients may not listen to you...
- Patient weight loss tool
- Acronym fatigue
Blog log
American Journal of Medicine
Also known as the Green Journal, the American Journal of Medicine publishes original clinical articles of interest to physicians in internal medicine and its subspecialities, both in academia and community-based practice.
Clinical Correlations
A collaborative medical blog started by Neil Shapiro, ACP Member, associate program director at New York University Medical Center's internal medicine residency program. Faculty, residents and students contribute case studies, mystery quizzes, news, commentary and more.
db's Medical Rants
Robert M. Centor, FACP, contributes short essays contemplating medicine and the health care system.
Everything Health
EverythingHealth is designed to address the rapid changes in science, medicine, health and healing in the 21st Century.
Getting Better with Dr. Val
Getting Better is the continuation of Dr. Val Jones' previous blog at Revolution Health. It is devoted to helping people understand health issues from a balanced, scientifically sound perspective.
HealthHombre
A roundup of health policy news drawn from a database of hundreds of Web sites.
Interact MD
Michael Benjamin, ACP member, doesn't accept industry money so he can create an independent, clinician-reviewed space on the Internet for physicians to report and comment on the medical news of the day.
Kevin, MD
The alter ego of Kevin Pho, ACP Member, is the closest thing to royalty in the medical blog world.
LSUHSC-S Medical Library Evidence Alert
Major guidelines, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and/or major reviews by national and international organizations.
PLoS Blog
The Public Library of Science's open access materials include a blog.
White Coat Rants
One of the most popular anonymous blogs written by a doctor.
4 Comments:
I have been on CR for 5.7 years now, I started when I was 18. I find Calorie Restriction to be extremely easy and the benefits are simply amazing. Not only 6-7 years younger than my age already, but I also have excellent BP 100/60, very good cholesterol levels, low heart rate, low glucose. Probably lower risk of cancer and other diseases associated with age. It also completely eliminated my allergies I had for over 6 years. I rarely get colds/flu and I don't get things like headaches anymore. It's simply amazing!
don't really know a lot of people on cr but ran across an interesting article last week on it.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080924151018.htm
hope the link works but there is a bit of a discrepancy in this recent study between cr in animals and humans.
This post has been removed by the author.
Thanks for the personal story, Matthew, and for the really interesting link, Tantheman!
Post a Comment
<< Home