Caloric Restriction by Drugs Another Gift from our Microbiome

A lot more of us could be healthier if we ate less, and studies with animals show calorie restriction, or CR, can help them live longer. CR is eating fewer calories than the body needs while still getting enough nutrients. In animals from yeast to flatworms and monkeys, CR extended life and lowered risks for cancer and heart disease.   

CR puts the body into a mild “stress” mode, where cells become more efficient and resist damage. Scientists are studying whether a pill could mimic the same effects. I’d be first in line, Dave.  

No kidding! I like food too much, so hand over a pill! We already have several promising drugs from the past decade. One is the diabetes drug, Metformin, which lowers blood sugar and activates an enzyme called AMPK that senses when energy is low. It signals the body burn fat and reduce inflammation — all things that CR does naturally. Another is rapamycin which blocks a pathway called mTOR. The body goes into a fasting-like mode, and the lives of lab mice were extended by the equivalent of twenty human years!   

Now studies are looking into other chemicals. An analysis of hundreds of chemicals elevated in the blood of CR mice showed that Lithochlic acid signals the body to burn fat. In lab mice, the animals’ cells produced more energy and responded better to sugar.     

But these mice didn’t live longer, so more work is needed.  If we can find a way to eat less and make the body burn more calories, we could meaningfully extend human life.