An interesting article in Wired magazine points out that longer life can be achieved by lower caloric intake as we age. I first heard of this theory when I read Bill Clinton’s biography wherein he mentioned that one of his college professors had been working on a study like this.

Half the monkeys were fed a low-calorie diet, and the other half a standard diet. All were closely monitored, with researchers regularly measuring their body composition, blood chemistry and endocrine function, as well as heart and brain function. When monkeys died, they were necropsied and the causes of death established.

All the surviving monkeys are now at least 27 years old, the rhesus equivalent of old age. Those fed a calorically restricted diet have dramatically lower levels of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, brain atrophy and lean-muscle loss. Just five of the 38 restricted monkeys have died from age-related causes, compared to 14 of 38 in the control group.

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