Eat less and live better and longer

by Maurice Larocque, M.D.

More and more studies are reporting that eating less but well slows down the aging process. Eating less also helps reduce physiological decline and the appearance of different diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney failure and cataracts.

In a large teaching hospital, researchers fed two groups of white rats. The first group of rats was allowed to eat as much as they wanted. The second group was put on a restrictive, but high-quality diet, eating 40% fewer calories than the first group.

The results:

The rats on the diet lived 30% longer than the others. This is tremendous.

Similar studies in the United States on monkeys have had the same results.

Dr. R. Walford and a team of eight researchers spent two years (1991-93) in underground living quarters in Arizona.

Following a restrictive diet, eating approximately 1,000 calories a day, they experienced positive changes in their health: weight loss, and lowered blood sugar, triglycerides, cholesterol and hypertension.

To age well and healthily, experts recommend:

losing any extra weight, which is a major risk factor for several so-called “civilized” diseases.
eating a varied diet, rich in fruit, legumes and protein.
Over the past thirty years of my experience in medicine, I have also been able to confirm how true these recommendations are.

In addition, I would add that it is also very important to not smoke and to do at least some exercise, that is walking 50 minutes five times a week.

Having said this, it is never too late to do something well. Don’t try to change everything at once. Make little changes at a time. Each little change is important.

Even if you have already failed on a diet in the past, don’t let that stop you from trying again to correct past mistakes and improve yourself. The worst part would be to not trying at all, for fear of failing once again. This way you are sure to fail.

Ask yourself whether you could do it differently this time to succeed? Have you worked on keeping motivated? Have you identified your motivational blocks? Have you used methods to better manage your stress and emotions?

Talk to your doctor about it. It is never too late to take your health in hand.

Until next time,
Maurice Larocque, MD