When I first started losing weight, it was absolutely all about calorie restriction. I mean, being skinnier helps you live longer, right? Eating healthier helps lower your blood pressure, reduces your risk of diabetes and heart disease, so how could this not be true?
Well, a scientists spent the last 23 years studying the results between food restriction and longevity in rhesus monkeys and are finally reporting their results in the journal Nature. So, can eating less really help you live longer?
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I would have thought that the answer to that is yes but, well, it's not! I'm actually kind of shocked.The study, which originally began in 1987 at the National Institute on Aging in Maryland, "saw monkeys of different ages fed a diet 30 percent lower in calories than others that followed a "normal," nutritious diet.
The scientists reported that the low-calorie diet did boost health but did NOT prolong life in these monkeys. So, what's that mean? It turns out there's no long-held link between food restriction and longevity. However, according to the New York Daily News, the healthier monkeys did have a "lower incidence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer than the rest, and dieting males also had lower cholesterol."
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I really am surprised by these findings. I mean, really? How does less diabetes, heart disease and cancer NOT make you live longer? I really don't get that one but I guess it's good to know. I'll still be eating healthy, though, since all of those things are still good for me and for my whole family.
Are you surprised by the results of this study? Share with us in the comments below!
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