[extropy-chat] cr again

[Spike]

Hey cool, no wonder Im so smart:

http://channels.netscape.com/new/html/live/scoop/nn/0.html

Weird Side Effect When Calories Are Cut

When we eat fewer calories, of course we lose weight. But something else
happens that you might not expect: Fewer calories could protect your
brain from the ravages of aging by slowing the normal process of cell
death that comes as we grow older, reports WebMD. Eat less to prevent
Alzheimer's? Noting that previous research has shown that calorie
restriction could boost longevity and mental capacity, researchers at
the University of Florida wondered if fewer calories might also help
protect aging brain cells. As we age, our bodies change. (Don't we know
THAT!) Old cells die. New ones are made. That's normal. However,
age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, cause a
greater number of cells to die in the brain, and that's not normal. This
abnormal cell death can also lead to a loss of brain function.

To test their theories, the Florida researchers gave one group of rats
unlimited access to food and water throughout their lives. Another group
of rats was adequately nourished but was given 40 percent fewer
calories. The results: The levels of proteins that indicate cell death
increased as part of the normal aging process in the rats that ate as
much as they wanted. But the rats that had a restricted diet did not
have an increase in these proteins, reports WebMD. In addition, a
protein that is thought to protect the brain from cell death dropped by
60 percent in the well-fed rats, but increased in the rats with
calorie-restricted diets. DNA fragmentation, which is also an indicator
of cell death, more than doubled in the high-calorie rats, but the
increase was 36 percent less in the other group of rats.

"We're not going to [eat less] right away to improve our memories; we're
going to do it probably in general for the first reasons, which would be
to prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer," study author Christiaan
Leeuwenburgh said in a news release announcing the findings that were
published in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for
Experimental Biology. "And maybe it also has a protective effect--and
it's very suggestive in this study that it does--on brain function."
This is just another reason to pay attention to what--and how much--you
eat.

>From Netscape News