Caloric restriction (CR), or calorie restriction, is a dietary regimen that restricts calorie intake, where the baseline for the restriction varies, usually being the previous, unrestricted, intake of the subjects. CR without malnutrition is one of the few dietary interventions shown to increase both median and maximum lifespan in a variety of species, among them yeast, fish, rodents and dogs. There has never been a sufficiently powered, long-term, randomized clinical trial of CR in humans, so we cannot know whether or not CR prolongs human life. The longest running scientific study of CR in primates was begun at University of Wisconsin in 1989; as of 2012 that study is ongoing and results are periodically published. A study of Rhesus Monkeys begun in 1987 by the National Institute on Aging published results in August 2012 that found evidence of health benefits, but did not demonstrate increased median lifespan. Research on maximum life span in that study is still ongoing.
Calorie restriction is a feature of several dietary regimens, including the Okinawa diet and the CRON-diet.
Read more about Calorie Restriction: Research History, Mechanisms, Caloric Restriction Mimetics, Intermittent Fasting As An Alternative Approach
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