Obese people who drastically limit their calorie intake can reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease and stay young longer, real-life research finds.
The study of obviously dedicated members of an organization called the Caloric Restriction Optimal Nutrition Society found they scored significantly better on such major risk factors as cholesterol, blood pressure and insulin levels. A group led by Dr. John O. Holloszy, a professor of medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine, report the finding in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“For the first time we’ve shown that calorie restriction is feasible and has a tremendous effect on the risk for atherosclerosis [hardening of the arteries] and diabetes,” Holloszy said.
The readings of such factors as blood pressure and cholesterol for these middle-aged Americans were typical of much younger people, he said.
The people involved in the study had been taking in about 1,100 and 1,950 calories a day for about six years, with bigger people logically eating more. They were compared to a matched group of people whose daily intake was between 1,975 and 3,550 calories a day, more typical of Americans.
The calorie-restricted group had blood levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol in the lowest 10 percent of people in their age group. The readings for “good” HDL cholesterol, which carries fats out of the arteries, were in the highest 15 percent of their age group. And their levels of triglycerides, fats that contribute to atherosclerosis, were lower than in 95 percent of Americans half their age.
Those readings, and the ones for other factors such as body mass index and body fat, indicate that the low-calorie consumers “are aging less rapidly than normal,” Holloszy said.
The study also deals a blow to the current craze over low-carbohydrate diets. The calorie-restricted group got 46 percent of their calories in the form of carbohydrates, with 26 percent from protein and 28 percent from fat.
The low-calorie people consumed mostly complex carbohydrates, from such foods as fruits and vegetables.
-Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Dr. Keith and Laurie Nemec Comments Calorie Restriction Can Prolong Life:
There is only one thing that has scientifically been proven to increase longevity. It is called calorie restriction. When obese animals of all types are put on a 50% decreased calorie intake, their lifespan increases 50%.
Not only does calorie restriction increase lifespan; it also increases your physical, mental and emotional health.
Heart disease, cancer and diabetes which account for nearly 90% of all deaths in the United States can be tremendously reduced if one just eats less.
How can a person cut their calories by 40-50% and still survive you might ask? The answer is found in nature. All animals in nature that live long lives and maintain excellent health eat only one type of diet: raw/living food. When you eat a diet of uncooked vegetables, sprouts, seeds, nuts, grains, fruits (avocados), you will be eating 40-50% of the calories you are presently eating. When you eat pure, living/raw plant base food, it fills you up and satisfies because it is concentrated nutritionally in the purest form. Take a lesson from the animal kingdom and start cutting your calories by eating a living/raw plant based diet.
Remember, the Daniel fast and the lessons learned from it. When we do not eat the king’s food (the cooked, processed food of this world system) not only will we be healthier physically but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
…Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. … In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. NIV
The more we feed the flesh (old mind/old nature) the more we block and suppress the flow of the Spirit, the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, the Spirit of all knowing.
