Is Cutting Calories The Key To Healthy Long Life?
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Caloric Restriction with Optimal Nutrition
Yesterday, we asked you “What is your opinion of caloric restriction as a health practice?” and got the above-depicted, below-described spread of responses:
- 48% said “It is a robust, scientifically proven way to live longer and healthier”
- 23% said “It may help us to live longer, but at the cost of enjoying it fully”
- 17% said “It’s a dangerous fad that makes people weak, tired, sick, and unhealthy”
- 12% said “Counting calories is irrelevant to good health; the body compensates”
So… What does the science say?
A note on terms, first
“Caloric restriction” (henceforth: CR), as a term, sees scientific use to mean anything from a 25% reduction to a 50% reduction, compared to metabolic base rate.
This can also be expressed the other way around, “dropping to 60% of the metabolic base rate” (i.e., a 40% reduction).
Here we don’t have the space to go into much depth, so our policy will be: if research papers consider it CR, then so will we.
A quick spoiler, first
The above statements about CR are all to at least some degree True in one way or another.
However, there are very important distinctions, so let’s press on…
CR is a robust, scientifically proven way to live longer and healthier: True or False?
True! This has been well-studied and well-documented. There’s more science for this than we could possibly list here, but here’s a good starting point:
❝Calorie restriction (CR), a nutritional intervention of reduced energy intake but with adequate nutrition, has been shown to extend healthspan and lifespan in rodent and primate models.
Accumulating data from observational and randomized clinical trials indicate that CR in humans results in some of the same metabolic and molecular adaptations that have been shown to improve health and retard the accumulation of molecular damage in animal models of longevity.
In particular, moderate CR in humans ameliorates multiple metabolic and hormonal factors that are implicated in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer, the leading causes of morbidity, disability and mortality❞
Source: Ageing Research Reviews | Calorie restriction in humans: an update
See also: Caloric restriction in humans reveals immunometabolic regulators of health span
We could devote a whole article (or a whole book, really) to this, but the super-short version is that it lowers the metabolic “tax” on the body and allows the body to function better for longer.
CR may help us to live longer, but at the cost of enjoying it fully: True or False?
True or False, contingently, depending on what’s important to you. And that depends on psychology as much as physiology, but it’s worth noting that there is often a selection bias in the research papers; people ill-suited to CR drop out of the studies and are not counted in the final data.
Also, relevant for a lot of our readers, most (human-based) studies recruit people over 18 and under 60. So while it is reasonable to assume the same benefits will be carried over that age, there is not nearly as much data for it.
Studies into CR and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) have been promising, and/but have caveats:
❝In non-obese adults, CR had some positive effects and no negative effects on HRQoL.❞
❝We do not know what degree of CR is needed to achieve improvements in HRQoL, but we do know it requires an extraordinary amount of support.
Therefore, the incentive to offer this intervention to a low-risk, normal or overweight individual is lacking and likely not sustainable in practice.❞
CR a dangerous fad that makes people weak, tired, sick, and unhealthy: True or False?
True if it is undertaken improperly, and/or without sufficient support. Many people will try CR and forget that the idea is to reduce metabolic load while still getting good nutrition, and focus solely on the calorie-counting.
So for example, if a person “saves” their calories for the day to have a night out in a bar where they drink their calories as alcohol, then this is going to be abysmal for their health.
That’s an extreme example, but lesser versions are seen a lot. If you save your calories for a pizza instead of a night of alcoholic drinks, then it’s not quite so woeful, but for example the nutrition-to-calorie ratio of pizza is typically not great. Multiply that by doing it as often as not, and yes, someone’s health is going to be in ruins quite soon.
Counting calories is irrelevant to good health; the body compensates: True or False?
True if by “good health” you mean weight loss—which is rarely, if ever, what we mean by “good health” here at 10almonds (unless we clarify such), but it’s a very common association and indeed, for some people it’s a health goal. You cannot sustainably and healthily lose weight by CR alone, especially if you’re not getting optimal nutrition.
Your body will notice that you are starving, and try to save you by storing as much fat as it can, amongst other measures that will similarly backfire (cortisol running high, energy running low, etc).
For short term weight loss though, yes, it’ll work. At a cost. That we don’t recommend.
❝By itself, decreasing calorie intake will have a limited short-term influence.❞
Source: Reducing Calorie Intake May Not Help You Lose Body Weight
See also…
❝Caloric restriction is a commonly recommended weight-loss method, yet it may result in short-term weight loss and subsequent weight regain, known as “weight cycling”, which has recently been shown to be associated with both poor sleep and worse cardiovascular health❞
Source: Dieting Behavior Characterized by Caloric Restriction
In summary…
Caloric restriction is a well-studied area of health science. We know:
- Practised well, it can extend not only lifespan, but also healthspan
- Practised well, it can improve mood, energy, sexual function, and the other things people fear losing
- Practised badly, it can be ruinous to the health—it is critical to practise caloric restriction with optimal nutrition.
- Practised badly, it can lead to unhealthy weight loss and weight regain
One final note…
If you’ve tried CR and hated it, and you practised it well (e.g., with optimal nutrition), then we recommend just not doing it.
You could also try intermittent fasting instead, for similar potential benefits. If that doesn’t work out either, then don’t do that either!
Sometimes, we’re just weird. It can often be because of a genetic or epigenetic quirk. There are usually workarounds, and/but not everything that’s right for most people will be right for all of us.
Take care!
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Black Beans vs Fava Beans – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing black beans to fava beans, we picked the black beans.
Why?
In terms of macros, black beans have more protein, carbs, and notably more fiber, the ratio of the latter two also being such that black beans enjoy the lower glycemic index (but both are still good). All in all, a clear win for black beans in this category.
In the category of vitamins, black beans have more of vitamins B1, B5, B6, E, K, and choline, while fava beans have more of vitamins A, B2, B3, B9, and C. That’s a marginal 6:5 win for black beans, before we take into account that they also have 43x as much vitamin E, which is quite a margin, while fava beans doesn’t have any similarly stand-out nutrient. So, another clear win for black beans.
When it comes to minerals, black beans have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium, while fava beans have more manganese, selenium, and zinc. Superficially this is a 6:3 win for black beans; it’s worth noting however that the margins aren’t high on either side in the case of any mineral, so this one’s closer than it looks. Still a win for black beans, though.
Adding up the sections makes for an easy overall win for black beans, but by all means, enjoy either or both—diversity is good!
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
Eat More (Of This) For Lower Blood Pressure
Take care!
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Tribulus Terrestris For Testosterone?
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(Clinical) Trials and Tribul-ations
In the category of supplements that have enjoyed use as aphrodisiacs, Tribulus terrestris (also called caltrop, goat’s head, gokshura, or puncture vine) has a long history, having seen wide use in both Traditional Chinese Medicine and in Ayurveda.
It’s been used for other purposes too, and has been considered a “general wellness” plant.
So, what does the science say?
Good news: very conclusive evidence!
Bad news: the conclusion is not favorable…
Scientists are known for their careful use of clinical language, and it’s very rare for a study/review to claim something as proven (scientists leave journalists to do that part), and in this case, when it comes to Tribulus’s usefulness as a testosterone-enhancing libido-boosting supplement…
❝analysis of empirical evidence from a comprehensive review of available literature proved this hypothesis wrong❞
Strong words! You can read it in full here; they do make some concessions along the way (e.g. mentioning unclear or contradictory findings, suggesting that it may have some effect, but by an as-yet unknown mechanism if it does—although some potential effect on nitric oxide levels has been hypothesized, which is reasonable if so, as NO does feature in arousal-signalling), but the general conclusion is “no, this doesn’t have androgen-enhancing properties”:
Pro-sexual and androgen enhancing effects of Tribulus terrestris L.: Fact or Fiction
That’s a review though, what about taking a look at a representative RCT? Here we go:
❝Tribulus terrestris was not more effective than placebo on improving symptoms of erectile dysfunction or serum total testosterone❞
As a performance-enhancer in sport
We’ll be brief here: it doesn’t seem to work and it may not be safe:
Insights into Supplements with Tribulus Terrestris used by Athletes
From sport, into general wellness?
Finally, a study that finds it may be useful for something!
❝Overall, participants supplemented with TT displayed significant improvements in lipid profile. Inflammatory and hematological biomarkers showed moderate beneficial effects with no significant changes on renal biomarkers. No positive effects were observed on the immune system response. Additionally, no TT-induced toxicity was reported.
In conclusion, there was no clear evidence of the beneficial effects of TT supplementation on muscle damage markers and hormonal behavior.❞
About those lipids…
Animal studies have shown that it may not only improve lipid profiles, but also may partially repair the endothelial dysfunction resulting from hyperlipidemia:
Want to try some?
In the unlikely event that today’s research review has inspired you with an urge to try Tribulus terrestris, here’s an example product on Amazon
If on the other hand you’d like to actually increase testosterone levels, then we suggest:
Topping Up Testosterone? ← a previous main feature did earlier this year
Take care!
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Sitting & Your Brain: Time To Take A Seat?
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Sitting is, as a very strong general rule of thumb, bad for the health.
We’ve written about this before: Stand Up For Your Health (Or Don’t) ← our main feature on this also includes more things you can do if you must sit, to make sitting less bad!
But that’s about general body health. What about the brain specifically?
Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin…
Active sitting vs passive sitting
Of course, exercise does benefit the brain too. After all, what’s good for the heart is good for the brain (see: What’s Your Vascular Dementia Risk?, and not just that, but also, there are additional brain-specific (not merely indirect vascular benefits) reasons to exercise, for example: How Exercise Rewires Your Brain for Better Mental Wellbeing
Exercise can even increase cognitive function: How Your Exercise Today Gives A Brain Boost Tomorrow
So, what about sitting? And what’s this “active sitting”?
No, it’s not about holding a “Roman chair” pose, nor is it about doing ab exercises on a Swiss ball (but you can sit on one if you like, like in our featured image today)!
Rather, it’s about one’s mental state.
Researchers (Dr. Cynthia Chen et al.) analyzed 85 studies including 1,575,657 middle-aged and older adults across 30 countries to examine how specific types of sitting relate to cognitive function, making a key distinction between:
- Active sitting (engaging actively with something that requires something from you mentally)
- Passive sitting (like watching TV)
Of these, the data showed…
- Passive sitting findings: of 43 studies on television viewing, 65% found a negative association between prolonged television viewing and cognitive function.
- Active sitting findings: of 58 studies examining activities such as reading, playing cards or puzzles, computer use, and driving, only 8.6% found negative associations, with most instead linking these activities to better executive function, memory, and cognitive flexibility.
You may be wondering: why is reading better than watching TV; aren’t they basically the same activity in a different medium?
And the answer is: no, not really—though it can feel like it, it’s not what’s actually going on in your brain!
Think about it this way:
- When you watch TV, you’re seeing images and hearing sounds and you passively experience what the TV show wants you to passively experience
- When you read a book, you’re seeing a complex series of symbols that you simply have a lot of practice at decoding and converting to ideas, sounds, images, and more, while adding in a lot of personal creativity too (especially if it’s a fiction book*)
*The same happens sometimes when reading non-fiction. For example, in a previous 10almonds article, this writer once described how she wondered if she could still do a handstand, kicked up against the wall, found she could, but she was wearing a dress and the dress fell down obscuring her vision and causing her to tumble to the ground in a heap laughing. And upon reading that, you, dear reader, will have added in creativity of your own in order to visualize it (because you’ve probably never seen me, the dress I was wearing, or the room in which I did that). Or when we tell you what is going on with red blood cells, or asparagus, or different colored urine, or the cholesterol levels of supercentenarian women in Sardinia, you’ll always be visualizing something more than we’ve said (unless you have aphantasia and cannot visualize anything, of course). And you’ll be doing it all from decoding many thousands of weird little coded symbols (i.e. typographical characters, e.g. letters, digits, punctuation marks, etc) on a screen.
How this is useful: the idea here is that health advice could move beyond merely “sit less”, and towards encouraging more mentally engaging seated activities to support long-term brain health and potentially reduce dementia risk.
Notably, this is still not an exhortation to sit more!
Just, if you are going to be sitting, try to make it count.
You can read the paper itself, here: Individual sedentary activities and cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults: A systematic review
What traditionally sedentary activities are most beneficial?
We’ve previously written about some…
On reading specifically:
- Reading: Better! (Reading As A Cognitive Exercise) ← there are specific tips here for ensuring your reading is (and remains) cognitively beneficial
- How Reading Changes Your Brain, Unnaturally ← more on why this works the way it does
On language acquisition/use specifically:
- Bilingualism: An Underrated Tool Against Alzheimer’s ← you don’t even have to learn the second language to a high level, to benefit; what matters in this case is that you are developing those parts of your brain
- Language Fluency Beats General Intelligence & Memory For Longevity ← this one’s about fluency in your own native language
On other cognitive exercises:
On learning in general:
…All of which things can be done while sitting and will still be brain-beneficial if you do!
(But please do still get up and move around often if you can!)
Want to learn more?
You might like this very good book we reviewed a while back:
Death by Sitting – by Carolyne Thompson
…but you may well find you don’t read it all in one sitting (because you just might get the urge to get up, stretch your legs, walk around a bit, etc) 😉
Take care!
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Four Ways To Upgrade The Mediterranean Diet
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Four Ways To Upgrade The Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean Diet is considered by many to be the current “gold standard” of healthy eating, and with good reason. With 10,000+ studies underpinning it and counting, it has a pretty hefty weight of evidence.
(For contrast, the Ketogenic Diet for example has under 5,000 studies at time of writing, and many of those include mentioning the problems with it. That’s not to say the Keto is without its merits! It certainly can help achieve some short term goals, but that’s a topic for another day)
Wondering what the Mediterranean Diet consists of? We outlined it in a previous main feature, so here it is for your convenience 😎
To get us started today, we’ll quickly drop some links to a few of those Mediterranean Diet studies from the top:
- Definition of the Mediterranean Diet; a Literature Review
- Mediterranean Diet In Healthy Aging
- Cancer and Mediterranean Diet: A Review
- Impact of Mediterranean Diet on Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases and Longevity
- Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies
- Adherence to Mediterranean diet and health status: meta-analysis
The short version is: it glows, in a good way.
The anti-inflammatory upgrade
One thing about the traditional Mediterranean Diet is… where are the spices?!
A diet focusing on fruits and non-starchy vegetables, healthy oils and minimal refined carbs, can be boosted by adding uses of spices such as chili, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, and coriander:
The gut-healthy upgrade:
The Mediterranean Diet already gives for having a small amount of dairy, mostly in the form of cheeses, but this can be tweaked:
Mediterranean diet with extra dairy could be a gut gamechanger
The heart-healthy upgrade
The Mediterranean Diet is already highly recommended for heart health, and it offers different benefits to different parts of cardiovascular health:
The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet can boost it further, specifically in the category of, as the name suggests, lowering blood pressure.
It’s basically the Mediterranean Diet with a few tweaks. Most notably, red meat no longer features (the Mediterranean Diet allows for a small amount of red meat), and fish has gone up in the list:
Description of the DASH Eating Plan
The brain-healthy upgrade:
The MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet combines several elements from the above, as the name suggests. It also adds extra portions of specific brain-foods, that already exist in the above diets, but get a more substantial weighting in this one:
MIND and Mediterranean diets linked to fewer signs of Alzheimer’s brain pathology
See also: The cognitive effects of the MIND diet
Enjoy!
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What is myasthenia gravis, the rare disease tennis great Monica Seles lives with?
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Former tennis star Monica Seles recently revealed she is living with the rare disease myasthenia gravis, which affects 12 in 100,000 people globally.
Seles explained her first symptoms appeared suddenly around three years ago. She began experiencing double vision and weakness in her arms and legs. This made everyday activities, such as drying her hair, a challenge.
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images So what is this condition?
Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune disorder, where your own immune system disrupts the communication between nerves and skeletal muscle.
In healthy people, nerve cells send a chemical messenger called acetylcholine. This tells muscles to contract by binding to its receptor.
In myasthenia gravis, antibodies block or destroy these receptors, so the signal is weakened or lost.
The result is muscle weakness that worsens with activity and improves with rest. This is called “fatigueability”.
What are the symptoms?
Muscle weakness can affect everyday functions such as walking, speaking, breathing and swallowing.
Symptoms, which can appear suddenly, may also affect the eyes, causing drooping eyelids and double vision.
In some cases, weakness of the muscles makes it difficult to breathe or can result in choking on food or water. This is called a “myasthenic crisis” and requires hospitalisation and sometimes life support.
In our research interviews, a young woman in her 30s living with myasthenia gravis described what it feels like to experience a crisis:
My speech slows, and I sound like I’m drunk, even though I’m fighting to breathe. Sometimes I can’t talk at all. Having my mum there to advocate for me has been life-saving, because I can’t explain what’s happening. Staying calm helps me cope.
Another man in his 70s explained just how suddenly the disease can appear:
It came on at my 70th birthday party. I developed ocular MG [a form of myasthenia gravis affecting the eyes] in the middle of my speech, and my grown children thought I was having a stroke. They rushed me to hospital – and that’s how it all began.
What causes it and who does it affect?
It’s unclear what causes the disease but it’s not thought to be hereditary.
There is some evidence it is more likely to occur with other autoimmune conditions such as autoimmune thyroid disease, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis but the evidence remains incomplete.
Myasthenia gravis can appear at any age. Early onset is more common in women (often before 40), while men are more likely to develop myasthenia gravis later in life.
How is it diagnosed?
Despite its serious impact, myasthenia gravis remains under-recognised and is difficult to diagnose. The diagnosis is “clinical”, which requires a doctor with experience in myasthenia gravis to make a judgement, based on the information available.
A handful of tests are available to support the diagnosis: blood tests for antibodies, nerve conduction studies and needle electromyography, which record the electrical activity of nerves and muscles. But these are far from perfect in establishing the diagnosis.
How is it treated?
There is currently no cure for myasthenia gravis, but a range of treatments can help manage symptoms. These include:
- oral medicines called anticholinesterase inhibitors, which temporarily improve communication between nerves and muscles
- immunosuppressant medications, which are generally taken by mouth. These dampen the immune system and reduce its attack
- plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), which is a blood product. These are resource-intensive therapies that remove or block the harmful antibodies. These treatments require hospital admission for at least half a day to administer via an intravenous drip
- in some patients, surgery is performed to remove the thymus gland, which is located in the chest between the lungs. This plays a key role in the abnormal immune response in people with myasthenia gravis.
While most treatments are subsidised through the health system, access remains a challenge for some people. Plasma exchange and IVIg are not available in all hospitals, for example, meaning patients in regional areas may face long travel distances or delays in receiving urgent care.
What is the long-term outlook?
While myasthenic crises are life-threatening, the evidence so far suggests the disease won’t have a significant impact on life expectancy for most people. Treatments aim to reduce disease activity rather than offering a complete cure.
People with myasthenia gravis can have very different journeys with their disease. Some may need frequent hospital admissions, and around 10% have a form of disease which is difficult to treat.
Others may experience minimal symptoms requiring little to no treatment.
Many find their symptoms are unpredictable. As a woman in her 60s, who has had myasthenia gravis for ten years, told us:
I think you just get used to managing – to finding your own rhythm in all the uncertainty.
Gozde Aydin, Research Fellow, Centre for Health Economics, Monash University and Yong Lin Wang, Neurologist and Phd Candidate, Monash University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Tourette’s Syndrome Treatment Options
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It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!
Have a question or a request? You can always hit “reply” to any of our emails, or use the feedback widget at the bottom!
In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!
As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!
So, no question/request too big or small
❝Is there anything special that might help someone with Tourette’s syndrome?❞
There are of course a lot of different manifestations of Tourette’s syndrome, and some people’s tics may be far more problematic to themselves and/or others, while some may be quite mild and just something to work around.
It’s an interesting topic for sure, so we’ll perhaps do a main feature (probably also covering the related-and-sometimes-overlapping OCD umbrella rather than making it hyperspecific to Tourette’s), but meanwhile, you might consider some of these options:
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