Category Archives: Dietary Restriction

Ageing per se increases susceptibility to lipid induced insulin resistance in rats

I am constantly on the lookout for studies on how biochemical mechanisms shift with age, the significance of these changes and how nutrition and lifestyle interact with them to potentially affect health. Ageing itself is clearly an immensely complex process, and teasing out changes caused from ageing itself rather than known variables that effect health is difficult. A recent paper by Francine Einstein et al. (1) examined how age influences susceptibility to free fatty acid (FFA) induced insulin Read more [...]

Carbon Dioxide and Lifespan in Drosophila

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My first post to this blog began with a fascinating study by Scott Pletcher that found odor from yeast can accelerate the ageing of dietary restricted Drosophila. His group recently published another study that adds to our understanding (1), which I summarize below. The investigators chose carbon dioxide (CO2) to study because of its known role in behavioral signaling in insects, so it was speculated that it may mediate the perception of food availability; fruit produce it as well as live yeast. Read more [...]

Water intake and protein:carbohydrate ratio confound Drosophilia calorie restriction studies, implications?

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Ja et al. (1) recently published the results of a study exploring how hydration and nutrient manipulation effects the results of calorie restriction in Drosophilia. In non mammalian models, feeding rate is difficult to control, and often food is diluted with water without giving them a separate source of water. Therefore, the specimens could be dehydrated and this could impact lifespan. In mammal models of calorie restriction, water is given ab libitum. The first experiment used groups of Read more [...]

The confounding role of sensory perception in calorie restriction and ageing research

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My first post to this blog will begin with a thought provoking paper on how the olfactory system fits in to the longevity promoting effects of calorie restriction. Calorie restriction is the most studied and reliable way to extend secondary and maximal lifespan, tested in many species since the 1930's up to recently in rhesus monkeys and preliminary human data. Why the mechanisms of calorie restriction have been so well conserved throughout species is still an enigma; species in natural settings Read more [...]