Mehta Linda Hotchkiss, Roth George S
New York Academy of Sciences, New York, New York, USA.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Aug;1172:28-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04409.x.
Aging involves a gradual increase in disorder of the systems that sustain living. Although stress is a major driver of this process, one stressor, caloric restriction (CR), is the only intervention proven to extend life span in multiple species as well as extend the persistence of those characteristics that are associated with youth. CR has been used since ancient times to enhance many of those characteristics: principally, increased activity levels and heightened levels of mental acuity. Religious ascetics, often living in monastic communities, have provided long-term opportunities to observe the effects of CR, or fasting, in humans. Tibetan medicine has made use of observations, which include that of enhanced immune function, in its dietary prescriptions. In the hopes of reaping these benefits for the general population, scientists focusing their research on the aging process have sought mimetics that will deliver the benefits of CR without requiring the discipline of fasting. The search begins with discovering the processes that make CR work.
衰老涉及维持生命的系统紊乱逐渐增加。尽管压力是这一过程的主要驱动因素，但一种压力源，即热量限制（CR），是唯一被证明能延长多种物种寿命以及延长与年轻相关特征持续时间的干预措施。自古代以来，热量限制就被用于增强许多此类特征：主要是提高活动水平和增强思维敏锐度。宗教苦行僧，通常生活在修道院社区，提供了长期观察热量限制或禁食对人类影响的机会。藏医学在其饮食处方中利用了包括增强免疫功能在内的观察结果。为了让普通人群也能收获这些益处，专注于衰老过程研究的科学家们一直在寻找能带来热量限制益处而无需禁食约束的模拟物。研究从发现使热量限制起作用的过程开始。
