Calorie Restriction: How a Diet Based on This Principle Affects Metabolism and Immunity

Diets, that all-encompassing topic that’s always fun. How many brochures and plans are there on the best way to lose weight the healthy way? Hundreds for sure. Meanwhile, science is advancing, in this case, About the benefits that calorie restriction can have on health, even on longevity.

according to study In Science, the extension of life expectancy driven by caloric restriction offsets growth, reproduction and immune defense. “We are reporting it 14% of calories restricted for two years in healthy humans Improving thymus formation and associated ectopic fat mobilization into the uterus,” Support investigation.

“Two years of modest calorie restriction has reprogrammed fat cell pathways They help regulate how mitochondria generate energy, the body’s anti-inflammatory responses, and possibly longevity. In other words, Calorie restriction recreates many of the metabolic and immune responses that enhance life and health duration.”Dr Eric Ravusin said one of the working members.

According to research, people who reduced their calorie intake by about 14 percent over two years produced more T cells, They play a major role in immune function and slow down the aging process. As people age, the thymus gland shrinks and produces fewer T cells. As a result, older adults find it more difficult to fight off infections and certain types of cancer. Restricting calories helps keep the thymus from shrinking and so a person produces more T cells.”And the said another of the authors, Eric Ravusin.

In addition to improving immunity, an increase in T cells is associated with a greater ability to burn fatty acid stores for energy. This is important because if a person does not burn this fuel, fat can build up in organs such as the muscles and liver, leading to insulin resistance, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and aging.

David Sudakov, MD, medical director of Health Medicine, an expert on intermittent fasting, stresses that calorie restriction in general is interesting regardless of whether it’s with intermittent fasting or if it’s without intermittent fasting. “But it is through 3, 4 or 5 meals that an individual develops during the day. So, in general, Calorie restriction is a good thing, and what should always be taken into account is that in the case of calorie restriction there should be no shortage of nutrients within the food intake, that is, the diet should always be balanced. With no calorie restriction yes, but the diet should be complete, and it should contain all kinds of nutrients that the body needs,” says Sudakov. Infobae.

Sudakov continues: “But yes to calorie restriction, I insist, especially in prolonged fasting, they have interesting aspects beyond weight.It helps fight weight, which is one of the current epidemics in the world, people in general, the obesity epidemic that is observed in the very young, not to mention the elderly who move less, and women, who are going through periods of hormone withdrawal. In general, obesity increases with age, it is a risk factor that reduces health. So, calorie restriction, especially starting from a young age with a varied, complete and balanced diet, but fair and restricted, allows us to combat one of the risk factors of overweight and obesity.

Prolonged fasting has health benefits of Sudakof. “It is true that it does cooperate with one meal less, but if we eat the same thing, it is the same calories that go into those eight hours than those that might go into four or five meals. But fasting allows us to convert it, so that the body can use, essentially, all the toxic waste products of the metabolism of the previous day, that is, 16 hours, as an energy source. “she says.

“Once you have used up your glycogen reserves, which usually have an eight-hour reserve in the body, An hour more, an hour less, the body begins to recruit energy use from the metabolism left over from the previous day’s processes, a cleaning process of detoxification in quotations. Besides prolonged fasting, there are studies that assume that it secretes hormones that have to do with the activation of the organism, the activation of cells and the activation of energy”, adds the specialist.

Letting the body rest from solid foods is good for overall health. “Only, figuratively speaking, how do we give it rest every day, knowing also that rest is like rest in humans: good rest is good for health, it renews cells. In the rest of the solids, from the solids income, in the prolonged fasting, he said, the digestive system is also stabilizing. And I say it’s very important because apart from the digestive system, which is called the second brain, it is where they also generate a number of neurotransmitters that have to do with well-being and moral balance. It is also largely responsible for the immune part, that is, it opens up multiple situations in prolonged fasting that indicate more than interesting old age or health”he adds.

Proper selection of food

Experts always recommend choosing foods carefully if you are going on a diet. Dr. Julio Monteiro, nutrition expert and president of the Argentine Society of Obesity and Eating Disorders (SAOTA), stresses that the right choice of foods that will be part of a weight loss plan can contribute to less muscle loss. In this sense, proteins play a major role.

“When you lose weight as a result of dietary changes, the body responds to adapt. One of the adaptive changes is the loss of muscle mass that occurs along with the loss of fat mass. It is an initial and predictable physiological response to a lack of food supply.”Montero details.

“Of course, if a person is on an improper diet for a long time, they will experience a greater loss of muscle mass than if they are on a more conservative diet. Likewise, if an overweight person is on a restricted diet, they will lose weight. quickly and possibly experience a greater loss of muscle mass than if the weight loss was gradual.”he adds.

In this sense, the nutritionist explained that after the immediate loss of muscle, the body seeks after 15 or 20 days to return to balance. “It’s common that fat is bad and muscle is good. But they are complementary, they are good friends. Muscle fuel is fat.” Draw.

When asked about optimal proportions of body fat and muscle composition, Monteiro said that although these depend on geography and each individual’s lifestyle – which will require a certain type of food and activity – in general, “A man can have up to 20 or 25% of his weight made up of adipose tissue and the rest corresponds to lean mass (including viscera, muscle and bone), while in women up to 32% can be accepted as adipose tissue.”

Regarding the role of proteins in the quest to reduce muscle loss during the weight-loss diet, Montero warned:“It’s like vitamins: a lack of vitamins leads to a deficiency, but an excess of vitamins does not improve function. If the amount of protein needed to restore muscle protein turnover is not available, muscle mass is lost. If you eat more protein than you should, you will not build more muscle.”

Along the same lines, make it clear that protein is essential when one is performing an activity that requires muscle contraction. “It is imperative that there be more protein in the diet because we will build muscle. But if you are completely rested and eat more protein, you will still have the same muscle as before. What builds muscle is muscle fiber exercise.”commented.

When talking about foods that make a greater contribution to protein, Montero expressed it “Proteins that are more similar to human proteins are best suited because they contain the same amino acids as muscle proteins.” “If you need to build muscle, you have to eat muscle. Proteins of high biological value are proteins of animal origin, starting with egg albumin, milk casein and meat proteins”pointed out.

Finally, the expert added: “These are ideal proteins to protect muscle as much as possible in nutritional plans for weight loss. When one wants to implement a nutritional strategy that tends to protect loss of muscle mass, it is pertinent that the diet is not poor in proteins of high biological value.”

Read on: