Tables Comparing 18 Caloric-Restricted Volunteers with a Control Group

Background:
    These tables summarize the findings of a recent Washington University study¹ of 18 individuals who had been caloric-restricted (CR) for a period ranging from 3 to 15 years, with an average caloric-restricted diet duration of 6 years. The caloric-restricted volunteers ranged in age from 35 to 82, with an average age of 58, and had been typical members of the U. S. population prior to their adoption of a caloric-restricted diet. (See the Pre-CR column in Table 1 below)  Their atherosclerosis risk factors before they begin CR (Column 2) are very close to the values for the Controls. (Column 1)..  Only in diastolic blood pressure (with an average diastolic blood pressure of 80) did the 18 volunteers present significantly better than average values.

Table 1:  Serial Measurements of Risk Factors for Atherosclerosis in CR Individuals

    The Washington University researchers were amazed at their findings². The CR volunteers exhibited blood lipid and blood sugar numbers³ that are characteristic of adults decades younger⁴ .Table 2 (below) presents a few additional risk factors beyond those given in Table 1.

Table 2:  Risk Factors for Atherosclerosis

    The numbers cited in the table below illustrate the effects of caloric-restriction upon the eight members of the Biosphere II team in the early 90's, who were forced into caloric-restriction by an inability to grow enough food during the two years they were confined within Biosphere II. Like the 18 participents in the Washington University study, whose age-related biomarker changes are summarized in tables 1 and 2 above, they also experienced major improvements in health-related indices, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3:  Effects of 6 to 8 Months of Caloric Restriction Upon the 8 Biosphere II Team Members

Calorie-Restriction Appears to Partially Reverse Aging, As Well As Slowing It Down.
    If caloric-restriction merely slowed the rate of aging, there would be no immediate change in these age-related biomarkers. Instead, they would simply deteriorate more slowly in the future. However, these results indicate what gene-chip studies imply5: that there is actual partial rejuvenation taking place.
    Regardless of whether or not caloric restriction increases the lifespan, it clearly markedly improves current health⁶, and this alone is worth the price of admission.
You've Probably Already Experienced This and Didn't Know It!
    There's nothing mysterious about caloric restriction. You've probably already experienced this. It happens whenever you lose weight over an extended period of time... e. g., with Weight Watchers. What hasn't been known is what effect this was having upon us.
Caloric Restriction Is Just a Fancy Name for Slimming Down, and Then Not Eating Too Much
    From a pragmatic standpoint, calorie restriction is just a fancy name for losing weight down to slim and trim, and then trying to eat just enough that you don't lose any more weight, rather than trying not to eat so much that you put on more weight. Must of us try to eat as much as we can without gaining weight, and for me at least, that never worked very well. Now and then, I would eat a little too much, and over time, my weight would creep back up again.
    It's important any time you're on a diet that you be careful that you get all the necessary nutrients so that you're not malnourished. This can be tricky when you have a low caloric intake. Also, eating right and living well can add, perhaps, a decade to your lifespan independently of caloric-restriction.
    It's also important that you lose weight slowly... no more than a pound a week, and preferably less.
    Most of us don't get hungry on caloric-restricted diets.
    This calorie restriction response is more than just slowing the rate of aging by burning life's candle slower. It appears to me to be an evolutionary mechanism conserved across the plant and animal kingdoms allowing organisms to switch from a modus vivendi optimized for reproduction to a mode of existence optimized for survival. Changes are triggered at the cellular level increasing DNA repair and partially reversing numerous other age-related declines.
    There is a wealth of valuable information on the Calorie Restriction Society website^7.

Web Addresses of References:
¹  -  http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0308291101v1
²   - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3640153.stm
^{3    - http://my.webmd.com/content/article/85/98784.htm?lastselectedguid=%7B5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348%7D}  http://my.webmd.com/content/article/85/98784.htm?lastselectedguid=%7B5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348%7D
⁴  -  http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3927655
⁵  - http://www.biomarkerinc.com/html/04_23_03.htm 
⁶  - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64170-2004May3.html
⁷  - http://www.calorierestriction.org/