Hello.

I've done research into calorie CR for anti-aging and I've thought about starting myself on a similar program. The only problem is that I'm only 16, and I'm afraid Calorie reduction will stunt my muscular and skeletal growth. Does anyone know a safe age to start a Calorie restriction diet?

bohrsonc,

Restricting calories right now will indeed stunt your growth. Males are still growing and developing until they are in their early 20's. My suggestion is to wait until you are at least 25 before you start thinking of doing such an experiment.

Here are some things to think about:

I suggest that you spend some time reading the posts in the Eating Disorders Board. Many of these people have, for various reasons, severely restricted their calories. Their brains have gone into starvation mode and they are having a very difficult time having a realistic view of real food. From the body's point of view, it doesn't matter what the reason is -- the body doesn't recognise the difference between semi-starvation because of some fad diet (some scientists say that I'll live longer) or because someone thinks that being thin will make them more attractive or more in control. The result can very easily be the same. Don't go there.

While you are still growing and developing, your body needs a lot of protein, good fats, complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, fruits and veggies, and, yes, sufficient calories. Getting all the nutrients that your growing body needs is very difficult to do on a calorie-restricted diet. You really need to know what you're doing, because it's not just a matter of cutting back on calories.

If you are thinking now, at your young age, of improving your diet so that you will live a long and healthy life -- congratulations! But I would like to suggest that you start by including more fresh fruits and veggies in your diet. Learn how to cook so that you can cook healthy things from scratch, and not eat sugary, fatty, white-flour junk food like many of your friends probably are.

Another thing to ponder is that we in the western world are surrounded by an over-abundance of calories. We have the option of choosing a wide variety of diets -- some that are healthy and some that are not. There are many places in the world where people are not so fortunate. Many people in the world are grateful to get whatever meager calories that they can find. They are not living long healthy lives just because they are on a calorie-restricted diet. I do not want to pull the old "clean up your plate because of the starving children in China (or Africa or wherever)" which is what my parents told me many years ago. That is irrelevant and illogical -- no amount of calories that you eat or don't eat will make a difference in what is available to them. But please consider that you are fortunate to have the choice -- and eating good healthy calories, in sufficient quantities, is a blessing that not all the children in the world have.

You have made a wonderful start by asking questions. As someone who's old enough to be your grandmother, I can tell you that eating your veggies is more important to your health than going on some fad diet.

Enough lecturing -- welcome to HealthBoards!

--Rheanna

rheanna, thank you for replying to my post. You are preaching to the choir. My diet consists of the following: organic vegetables and fruits, water, lean protein (in the form of soy milk, tofu, or chicken), and healthy oils (olive oil & sesame). I love to cook indian food with the cancer-fighting spice turmeric, and especially like steamed broccoli on my salads. All my friends thing I'm insane.

About calorie reduction for someone who is older:

Do you still consider it unhealthy? I've seen studies showing that calorie reduction diets in lower order mammals such as rats have increased life expectancy on the order of 40%.

bohrsonc,

My personal feeling is that continuing to eat the way you're eating now, and making sure that you keep physically active, is going to ensure that you live a long and healthy life.

In regards to the calorie restriction issue, here are some of my thoughts:

First, scientists are publishing results from their experiments all the time. Some of those results make it look like it would make sense to adopt a new wonder pill or procedure or lifestyle right now. But keep in mind that scientists are setting up experiments in such a way as to break things down into manageable sizes so that they can (1) isolate just the components that they want to compare with other components, and (2) see the results in their lifetimes or before the grant money runs out. Thus, if they want to find out if calorie restriction affects the lifespan of humans, they can't just kidnap some babies and isolate them, giving group A very few calories per day, group B a bit more calories per day, group C a middle amount of calories per day, and a control group all the calories per day that they feel they need to satisfy their hunger. This would be unethical, and would require islolating these people for far longer than these original scientists, who thought up the experiment, would themselves survive. So, it makes sense to try it out on mice, who live only a short time. But time after time, it has become apparent that what is appropriate for mice may or may not apply to humans. This takes a long time, with other scientists looking over the data and setting up new experiments and looking at health statistics from other studies and so on, to see if something can perhaps be applied to humans.

Second, may I point out that there are advantages and disadvantages to everything, including any particular diet that anyone chooses to follow. Let us assume, for the sake of this discussion, that what apples to mice also applies to humans -- that cutting calories severely (while making sure to get lots of veggies and vitamins and fiber and protein and so on, of course) will allow us to live a decade or so longer than the current average lifespan with a decrease in the chance that we will get the usual diseases of western civilization. The advantage here is clear -- we have a longer time to indulge in our hobbies and give something back to the world and so on. But one of the disadvantages that immediately leaps to my mind is that we would be constantly hungry. When we are hungry we think of food. But we're not allowed to eat more than a pre-set amount, because we are on this grand experiment to extend our lives. Constantly hungry. Constantly thinking of food. For the rest of our lives. Every day. All day. Lest you think that I'm exaggerating, I've read articles from people who have put themselves on such a calorie-deficit diet. They are physically healthy. But hungry. And constantly thinking of food. Is this how you want to spend the next several decades of your life?

And these people who have read the same scientific studies that you have, and who have decided to follow such a diet, are still alive. They haven't been doing this for very long. Thus there is no proof that the deprivation that they have set for themselves will pay off in the long term with extra years of a healthy lifespan. They are setting themselves up as lab mice, for the rest of the world to observe. It'll take a few more generations to see if what applies to mice also applies to humans.

In the meantime, the sort of diet that you are describing as your current diet to confound your friends :) , plus regular exercise (!!!), has already been shown to increase lifespans and lower the chances of getting the diseases that plague the western world.

We have the opportunities to make our own choices in life. Perhaps you can guess which choice I've made in regards to this topic. :)

--Rheanna