Antiaging diets: Separating fact from fiction

Science. 2021 Nov 19;374(6570):eabe7365. doi: 10.1126/science.abe7365. Epub 2021 Nov 19.

Abstract

Caloric restriction has been known for nearly a century to extend life span and delay age-associated pathology in laboratory animals. More recently, alternative “antiaging” diet modalities have been described that provide new mechanistic insights and potential clinical applications. These include intermittent fasting, fasting-mimicking diets, ketogenic diets, time-restricted feeding, protein restriction, and dietary restriction of specific amino acids. Despite mainstream popularization of some of these diets, many questions remain about their efficacy outside of a laboratory setting. Studies of these interventions support at least partially overlapping mechanisms of action and provide insights into what appear to be highly conserved mechanisms of biological aging.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aging*
  • Amino Acids
  • Animals
  • Caloric Restriction / adverse effects
  • Diet Fads
  • Diet* / adverse effects
  • Diet, Ketogenic / adverse effects
  • Diet, Protein-Restricted / adverse effects
  • Fasting / adverse effects
  • Health*
  • Humans
  • Longevity*
  • Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 / metabolism
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • MTOR protein, human
  • Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases