What are calorie restriction and fasting diets?

You may have heard about calorie restriction and fasting diets and wondered why they’re getting so much attention in the news. Calorie restriction means reducing average daily caloric intake below what is typical or habitual, without malnutrition or deprivation of essential nutrients. In a fasting diet, a person does not eat at all or severely limits intake during certain times of the day, week, or month. Research with a variety of animals has shown that calorie-restricted feeding can delay the onset of age-related disorders and, in some studies, extended lifespan. Given these results in animals, researchers are studying if and how calorie restriction or a fasting diet affects health and lifespan in people. Scientists still have much to learn about how calorie restriction and fasting affect older adults. Visit our website to learn more about what we know and don’t yet know about calorie restriction and fasting diets, and where the science is headed. Share this information on social media: What do we know about calorie restriction and fasting diets and their impact on the aging process? Find out in this article from the National Institute on Aging at NIH: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/calorie-restriction-and-fasting-diets-what-do-we-know