Late diet may extend age

Friday July 16th, 2010

British scientists say they have taken some key steps to explaining why a period of dieting can extend life-span.

The findings were being presented today at the conference of the British Society for Research on Ageing in Newcastle.

The findings, from a research team at Newcastle University, suggest the benefits of dieting can be enjoyed even if it is undertaken for a short period of time late in life.

The studies of laboratory mice studied a phenomenon called cell senescence - the point at which a cell can no longer reproduce itself.

The research showed that when mice were fed a restricted diet these cells ceased to accumulate in the livers and intestines.

Researcher Chungfang Wang said: "Many people will have heard of the theory that eating a very low calorie diet can help to extend lifespan and there is a lot of evidence that this is true.

"However, we need a better understanding of what is actually happening in an organism on a restricted diet."

Professor Thomas von Zglinicki, who was in charge of the research, said it was "particularly exciting" that the effect was seen even when the restricted diet was used in late life.

He said: "We don't yet know if food restriction delays ageing in humans, and maybe we wouldn't want it. But at least we now know that interventions can work if started later.

"This proof of principle encourages us in our search for interventions that might in the foreseeable future be used to combat frailty in old patients."

Tags: Diet & Food | Geriatric Health | UK News

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