2008 Woodie Awards
Cutting Calories: Is restricting calories the way to go?
CSUSM Professor weighs in on the pros and cons with new study
Arianne Schulz
Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: Features
A recent study by Deborah Kristan, Ph.D, of CSUSM demonstrates that "cutting calories" may have detrimental health effects. Dr. Kristan, a biology professor specializing in physiological ecology, the biology of aging, and the effects of domestication on morphology and physiology, graciously shared an overview of the topic of calorie restriction. What is calorie restriction? Calorie restriction is confining the amount of calories consumed while still ensuring proper and adequate nutrition (not neglecting or lacking the necessary proportions of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, or vitamins and minerals). Long-term calorie restriction has shown to prolong life with numerous studies including many different types of animals. While this process occurs, the mechanisms are not entirely understood. Scientists are exploring and testing many hypotheses in order to gain a better understanding of how calorie restriction relates to or causes a longer life span. In particular, one such hypothesis is that the immune system works more efficiently with calorie-restriction.
Dr. Kristan structured a research experiment to test this hypothesis of a more effective immune system in relation to a long-term calorie restriction. Dr. Kristan focused on this proposed hypothesis in her research study completed here at CSUSM. Dr. Kristan's results were published in the December 2007 issue of Aging Cell.
Dr. Kristan explains that until recently, only fragments of parasites-not whole parasitic organisms-were used to test the immune response after long-term calorie restriction. In these studies with pieces of parasitic organisms, the calorie-restricted groups had a better immune response than the fully fed group. Dr. Kristan also notes that presently only three studies have examined the effects with intact, entire parasites. Dr. Kristan comments that these three studies, in a sense, truly address the usefulness of long-term calorie restriction in humans, because humans encounter intact pathogens, not partial pathogens.
Dr. Kristan structured a research experiment to test this hypothesis of a more effective immune system in relation to a long-term calorie restriction. Dr. Kristan focused on this proposed hypothesis in her research study completed here at CSUSM. Dr. Kristan's results were published in the December 2007 issue of Aging Cell.
Dr. Kristan explains that until recently, only fragments of parasites-not whole parasitic organisms-were used to test the immune response after long-term calorie restriction. In these studies with pieces of parasitic organisms, the calorie-restricted groups had a better immune response than the fully fed group. Dr. Kristan also notes that presently only three studies have examined the effects with intact, entire parasites. Dr. Kristan comments that these three studies, in a sense, truly address the usefulness of long-term calorie restriction in humans, because humans encounter intact pathogens, not partial pathogens.
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cls
posted 3/14/08 @ 8:46 PM PST
Outstanding article. You are great!
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