A Natural Way to Live Longer

Did you know that you can actually live longer by restricting calories? In numerous studies, cutting calories by 40 percent increased the lifespan of laboratory animals (ranging from mice to geese) by as much as 50 percent. And a 15-year study of monkeys found that a restricted-calorie diet lengthened their lives by 30 percent.

When you eat less, you get a number of anti-aging benefits:

• Body temperature drops
• Blood pressure lowers
• Cholesterol levels drop
• Cells divide at a slower rate
• The rate of glycation drops
• Free-radical activity drops
• Oxidation activity drops

Cutting calories is not as hard as you think. You can, for example, substitute a protein shake for your regular morning meal. Protein powders that feature whey protein isolate are the best. You’ll have the sensation of being full without the metabolic stress on your body.

When you bulk up on protein, you throw "metabolic switches" in your body that lessen hunger and start burning fat. This is a genetic throwback to our caveman days when lots of protein meant "times are good." When your body isn’t worried about starvation, it burns off all its fat stores. (Why do you need stored body fat if you are likely to eat well again tomorrow?)

[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears, a practicing physician and the author of The Doctor's Heart Cure,, is a leading authority on longevity, physical fitness, and heart health.]

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