To stave off aging, Americans spend billions of dollars every year on supplements, gyms, even therapists. But a report released in July suggests that the secret to a longer life may simply involve a new twist on an old adage: Watch what you eat.
A study of adult rhesus macaques showed that the monkeys were one-third as likely to die from age-related diseases if they consumed 30 percent fewer calories than they did in their regular diet. Previous, well-publicized research had shown that restricting calories can increase the life span of creatures ranging from fruit flies to dogs, for reasons still unclear. But the latest trial, led by geriatrics expert Richard Weindruch at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center and published in Science, is the first to show that caloric restriction can improve survival in primates.
This kind of research takes enormous patience. Weindruch has spent 20 years studying his ...
