Aging gracefully

Photo by Jeff Miller/University of Wisconsin-Madison

Canto, left, a rhesus monkey, is aging fairly well at 25 on a calorie restriction diet. Owen, though only a year older than Canto, is frail and moves slowly. He eats a normal diet.

Calorie restriction involves eating about 30 percent fewer calories than normal while still getting adequate amounts of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Aside from direct genetic manipulation, calorie restriction is the only strategy known to extend life consistently in a variety of animal species. Experiments in a variety of species show that the subjects on low-calorie diets have proven to be not just longer lived, but also more resistant to age-related ailments.

Despite widespread scientific enthusiasm, the evidence that calorie restriction works in humans is indirect. Though all my test reports show I am in healthy condition, it never hurts if the numbers are improved, such as blood pressure, LDL, HDL, and etc. What matters is not that it might prolong your life, but that it might make you healthier and improve your life quality. I'd like to have a try, getting by on about 1,600 to 1,700 calories a day, a so-so number for women of my age, weight, height and activity level. All I need to do is to cook less every day. :)

It looks promising to me since I have a role model in my family. That is my grandma. She started a calorie restriction diet after a surgery of cholecystitis and gall stone. On an average day, she eats one steamed bun and a glass of milk for breakfast, followed by a light lunch and an afternoon tea. Dinner is whatever my aunt cooks, usually rice, a lot of vegetables and fish. She takes vitamins and calcium supplements every day. What's more important, she spends at least an hour in exercising every day. Her hair is not as grey as women of her age, which is 90 years old. She participates in various community activities and makes speeches from time to time. I deeply admire her strength and personality and hope I could age as gracefully as she is.