Calorie Restriction Extends Lifespan in Monkeys

CALORIE RESTRICTION WORKS IN MONKEYS

Just before I left for work earlier today I had a google alert that read something like "Calorie Restriction extends lifespan in Primates". Well not much of a surprise, but happy to read the paper when I can. The article I first looked at was from wired.com. Here is what they said;

"Up until now, all the clear-cut evidence that caloric restriction slows aging has come from lower organisms,” said John Holloszy, a Washington University gerontologist who studies caloric restriction in people and was not involved in the current monkey study. “This is the first study to show that caloric restriction slows aging in a primate species. And of course, we’re primates, too. It’s a lot more relevant to humans than the mouse.”

Click image to enlarge (best quality pic of Canto and Owen)

"All the surviving monkeys are now at least 27 years old, the rhesus equivalent of old age. Those fed a calorically restricted diet have dramatically lower levels of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, brain atrophy and lean muscle loss. Just five of the 38 restricted monkeys have died from age-related causes, compared to 14 of 38 in the control group."

Click image to enlarge

The CR monkeys seem to be looking youger and also keeping a nice fur coat as is quite clear in this picture

Does this make you more confident that CR will work in humans? For me the answer is yes. They visually looking younger, they're also showing big differences in survival.

Source; WIRED