It’s no secret that we live in a society that is addicted to the Cult of Youth. Advertisements featuring young and good-looking people surround us daily. We are given the constant message that to be young is to be free and liberated. We buy creams and oils that promise to revive our flagging health, energy and outward appearance. However, what if there was a way to maintain good general health while potentially living longer?
It has long been known that simply by eating less over time, we can potentially lengthen our lives and ward off certain diseases. It’s called caloric restriction, and can, apparently, add a number of years to your life. The exact bodily processes are not well known, but it would seem that by cutting our calories, our bodies become more efficient and many of our cells live longer.
The Possible Benefits Caloric Restriction
There is scientific evidence that practicing caloric restriction over a period of time can produce the following benefits:
- A reduced risk of developing some serious diseases, including some cancers, heart disease, stroke, nerve and blood vessel damage, and Type 2 Diabetes
- Our bodies burn energy more efficiently and our cells possibly produce less toxic byproducts
- Physical fitness, even in old age, has been shown to improve
Why Does Caloric Restriction Work?
Studies on animals such as rats, mice and dogs have resulted in a strong correlation between restricting the intake of calories and the lengthening of lifespan. It is thought that by restricting our caloric intake the metabolism of our bodies slows down, becomes more regulated, and results in fewer cell damaging free radicals.
The effect of this is potentially less damage to our body’s cells, meaning less risk of organ damage, and a possible anti-aging effect. This has the potential to increase our lifespan and keep us healthier during that time.
Importantly, these studies strongly suggest that caloric restriction can have positive benefits even if up to fifty percent of the normal intake is cut out.
Further evidence suggests that cutting it by sixty percent and above has the reverse effect, causing premature death and starvation. Clearly there is some science behind it, but it’s still vital to maintain a balanced diet and regular exercise.
How to Achieve Ideal Caloric Restriction for a Longer & Better Life
Given how many of us overeat regularly and have thus trained our bodies to crave sugars, fats and more and more food, it might seem a daunting task to try and cut our caloric intake effectively. However, help is at hand. There are a number of simple things you can do each day to cut your caloric intake and manage your diet.
Here are some things you can do right now to decrease your food consumption and caloric intake:
- Using smaller plates at main meal times can trick the brain into seeing it as a full meal that is unrestricted. The meal itself is smaller than you’d normally eat, but your brain considers it a full meal because the plate is full.
- Serving smaller portions at all meals tricks your brain into eating less over time. University studies have found that if we are given a large amount of food, we will mindlessly eat it all. This is why you can mindlessly indulge in a full bucket of buttered popcorn at the movies and have eaten it all without noticing at the end of the movie!
- By eating three main meals a day and skipping snacks, you can more effectively manage your weight and your caloric intake.
- Using taller and skinnier drinking glasses helps to fool your brain into thinking that it is drinking more when it is actually drinking less.
- There is also some evidence to suggest that eating protein (like eggs) for breakfast suppresses our appetite for longer throughout the day.
- Using chopsticks to slow down your eating actually allows your stomach to send ‘I’m full’ signals to the brain more effectively, thus cutting your caloric intake by eating smaller portions.
Pay Attention to Your Eating Habits and Control Them
Whatever the exact scientific evidence behind the efficacy of caloric restriction in humans, it’s certainly clear from studies that a healthy diet and exercise combined can extend our lives and help us maintain a better quality of life. At the very least, it is wise to ignore the many questionable health claims of fad diets and advertised superfoods so that we can take control of our diet using some simple methods.
