Calorie Restriction Or Exercise

Although this study was conducted on mice researchers believe it may some day have relevance to human beings, stay tuned!

I read a very interesting study today (I always say that don’t I). Well I want to keep abreast of the most current finding as they apply to fitness and us human beings. Anyway this particular study was conducted on mice and some the finds proved very interesting. Scientist compared the life span of mice on calorie restrictive diets versus mice that ate as much as they wanted. They also looked at mice that ate as much as they wanted but also exercised and mice that were on restricted diets but also exercised.

Guess what? The mice on the restrictive diets faired the best. They mentioned some mumbo jumbo about insulin, oxidative stress and possible tissue damage,8-hydroxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a marker of DNA damage andhormonal benefits. It gets really scientific but the bottom line was that eating less (in mice) produced longer live spans.

I know, I know, we are not mice but study suggests there are some similarities. For example a handful of studies comparing people on calorie restricted diets to people who are avid exercisers, found similar hormonal benefits among those eating less calories. Thus calorie restriction creates beneficial changes in the human body’s hormone levels which exercise does not.

In conclusion,Derek M. Huffman, the study’s lead author said, “I wouldn’t say this study has direct implications for people right now, but it shows what physiological changes caloric restriction and exercise produce. We can continue to build upon these findings until we can get a better understanding of how this works in people.”