An Interview on CR With Luigi Fontana
Here's a calorie restriction (CR) article I missed from earlier this month: "If anyone is in a position to assess the risks and benefits of CR, it is Dr. Luigi Fontana, research associate professor of medicine at Washington University. He is overseeing a group of 50 patients involved in an 11-year study of calorie restriction. The study is part of CALERIE (Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy), a large clinical trial being funded by the National Institute on Aging ... Why is CR controversial in the United States? Dietitians seem opposed to this. ... First of all, probably most dietitians don't have knowledge about calorie restriction. These are pretty new data. Before they were only on mice and rats. So they say, 'OK, mice and rats, who cares about mice and rats?' And so this is a pretty new phenomenon, and any time there is a new phenomenon, there are a lot of people who say, 'No, no, no, no, no!' It's a typical reaction to something that is new. ... All the metabolic, hormonal and cellular adaptations so far we have seen in mice and rats, we know they are living longer, not only healthier but longer. We know that is also happening in monkeys and in humans."
Link: http://www.lohud.com/article/20091113/LIFESTYLE01/911130304