Study reveals key factors in extending human health through calorie restriction

Feb 13, 2022

New Delhi, Feb 13 (ANI): A recent study led by the researchers of Yale university confirmed the health benefits of moderate calorie restrictions in humans and identifies a key protein that could be harnessed to extend health in humans. Decades of research have shown that limits on calorie intake by flies, worms, and mice can enhance life span in laboratory conditions. But whether such calorie restriction can do the same for humans remains unclear. The research was based on results from the Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE) clinical trial, the first controlled study of calorie restriction in healthy humans. For the trial, researchers first established baseline calorie intake among more than 200 study participants. The overall aim of the clinical trial was to see if calorie restriction is as beneficial for humans as it is for lab animals. They found that the thymus glands in participants with limited calorie intake had less fat and greater functional volume after two years of calorie restriction, meaning they were producing more T cells than they were at the start of the study.