Food and Livin

Rambling about caloric restriction... there is a lot of recent research out there that makes the caloric restriction diet questionable.

Eat less or Don't change a thing or Eat Less Protein?

there are two major influences on IGF-1 levels: calorie intake and protein intake.

... recent findings suggest lowering protein also might be important to longevity

I suspect that those great endurance athletes with phenomenal VO2 maximums have a price to pay. All that mitochondrial activity leads to increased oxidative stress and accelerated aging or age related illnesses.

The Sirt3 enzyme ...acts on mitochondria, structures inside cells that produce energy and that are the sources of highly reactive forms of oxygen known as free radicals, which damage cells and promote the effects of aging.

Another speculation: Weightlifters and bodybuilders beware - all that ramped up protein synthesis could be killing you. As a gym rat who defaulted into bodybuilding just to have some sense of progress, I have been sensitive to the idea that all this increased metabolism and cellular activity is essentially burning my gene candles at both ends. We only have a limited number of cell divisions before the telomeres run out unless telomerase is increased - which it is through "exercise". The question is whether cardio training is superior to resistance training in upregulating telomerase activity. Also, does increased protein consumption negate the benefits?

IGF-1 is a key hormone for weightlifters, but it has a complex set of pros and cons regarding cancers and aging.