In all these species, researchers observed that calorie restriction had a life-extending effect. One of the best outcomes of calorie-restricted diets was the delayed development of diseases such as cancer, osteoporosis, heart diseases, and diabetes mellitus, among others. Research began in two US centers at about the same time. The first project started in 1987, under the leadership of Dr. George S. Roth of the National Institute of Aging. The tests have been going on for 10 years, and the results of the research show that monkeys following the calorie-restricted diet are much healthier, more active and function better.
All indicators show that monkeys react to the diet in the same way as rats.
And similar experiments have already been performed on people. A group of volunteer scientists were isolated from the outside world for six months, and followed low-calorie balanced diets. All the biospherians felt mentally and physically healthier. When it became obvious that calorie-restricted diets can so significantly prolong life span, scientists decided to find out why. Calorie restriction and the mechanism of aging Gerontologists and other scientists interested in why we age, agree that the nature of the aging process mainly involves the accumulation of specific damaging molecules.