GAINESVILLE, Fla., May 9 (UPI) -- University of Florida researchers find trimming a few calories from the daily diet may help lessen the effects of aging -- in rats.
The study, published in the journal Antioxidants and Redox Signaling, found that eating a little less food and exercising a little more over a lifespan can reduce or even reverse aging-related cell and organ damage in rats.
Earlier research had found that a drastic 20 percent to 40 percent cut in calories slowed aging, but the new study indicates even small reductions in calories could have big effects on health and aging.
"This finding suggests that even slight moderation in intake of calories and a moderate exercise program is beneficial to a key organ such as the liver, which shows significant signs of dysfunction in the aging process," said senior author Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, an associate professor of aging and geriatric research.
Leeuwenburgh found that feeding rats just 8 percent fewer calories a day and moderately increasing the animals' activity extended their average lifespan. An 8-percent reduction is the equivalent of a few hundred calories in an average human diet, and moderate exercise is equivalent to taking a short walk, says Leeuwenburgh.
