What is calorie restriction, how to do it safely and what are the benefits – time.news

2023-05-19 11:47:51

Of Silvia Turin

Reducing calories doesn’t just lose weight: it can predispose to longevity and help fight the chronic diseases typical of our age. Here’s how to do it safely

The calorie restriction it acts like a real magic pill, counteracting the factors that lead the elderly to be susceptible to so many diseases. He also talked about it Silvio Garattini (president and founder of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research) in an interview with Corriere, in which he said he only eats in the evening and always weighs the same.

What is calorie restriction

The calorie restriction nothing but the banal eat less (and better), which is not so trivial if obesity and overweight are rampant in many countries of the Western world. Calorie restriction can lead to weight loss, but it is also indicated for those in a healthy weight because, if maintained, it helps to counteract many diseases and aging processes.

How does it work

There are many ways to practice it, but they must always be tailored to the person, because age, starting weight and ongoing pathologies must be taken into account. For this reason it is better to consult a nutritionist before undertaking it. It can be done eating less at each mealbut also by practicing a mild form of intermittent fasting (we talked about it in THIS item, ndr
): severe fasting, in fact, for many hours or a whole day, is inadvisable because it causes a forte stresswhich is not healthy: The body “squeeze” itself to obtain the sugars it lacks and thus lowers the basal metabolic rate a little to “resist” in the absence of resources and raises the level of cortisol, the excess of which can lead to important both physical and mental consequences.
The right choice is that of eat less at every single meal. Obviously, to obtain benefits in the terms we have described, it is not possible to eat less, but only junk food: the basic diet must in any case be that of Mediterranean diet
.

The benefits studied

How does eating less affect our body? Calorie restriction reduces the risk factors for chronic diseases typical of our age (cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes 2, tumors and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s) – explains Stefano Erzegovesi, Nutritionist and Psychiatrist -, because it activates specific responses that reduce the indicators of inflammatory state and those related to increased cardiovascular risk. There is a reduction of all inflammatory indices (WHO we explained what chronic inflammation is and how to fight it, ndr
) and an enhancement of the mechanisms that rejuvenate cells.
Reducing even just a couple of centimeters in waist circumference translates into an advantage similar to that obtained by taking them together a drug antihypertensive, anti-glycemic, anti-cholesterol, anti-inflammatory and which lowers insulin levels and tissue oxidation.

The contraindications

There are no contraindications

generic in eating less, if not the peculiar ones, as written above, linked to the clinical history of each person, for which it is necessary to be guided by a specialist doctor. Eating little, or worse fasting, can be dangerous for those suffering from certain diseases (such as diabetes) or the elderly.
Calorie restriction (practiced without fasting and with the Mediterranean diet) would be ideal for lose weightbut a neglected factor, perhaps because it is simple to practice, but difficult, in a world that thrives on miracle diets and above all very short in time (and also in effects).

May 19, 2023 (change May 19, 2023 | 12:01)

© Time.News