ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Carbs and Proteins Determine Your Life Span

Updated on June 7, 2015
jpcmc profile image

I'm a Catholic dad and husband. That's the most important part of me.

Most people mask their intentions to lose weight by saying that they want to live a healthier lifestyle of eat healthier foods. Of course who can argue with such a life-changing commitment like that? So what do they do? They jump from one weight loss program to another and end up a few pounds heavier than they started. And every day, there is some miracle diet plan or the perfect weight loss regimen out in the market. Not to mention the overflowing of health and fitness equipment that promise flatter abs and gorgeous body in a fraction of what you’d normally take in a fitness gym. Yes, there is always something new out there for people to try. But will these guarantee longevity


Because we often look at what is the hype in the market we forget to look at the past for some sound advice when it comes to getting a healthy and fit body. Some 80 years ago, a paper on food intake showed that given all things equal the key to prolonging one’s life is kilojoule intake restriction. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s make this simpler. Kilojoule restriction is simply cutting down on protein and increasing carbohydrate intake in the diet. The Academic Director of Charles Perkins Center, Prof. Simpson said that this knowledge has been around for many years now. But, this diet strategy for long life is a bit too extreme for some people. Cutting down up to 40 percent of one’s kilojoule intake is quite difficult in the long term. Moreover, he mentions that this much reduction can cause loss of bone mass and some libido issues in the long term. Likewise, people tend to increase the intake of food due to the body’s need to eat more protein.

Do you stop and think about how your food will impact your health?
Do you stop and think about how your food will impact your health? | Source

Are conscious about what you eat?

See results

Healthy eating and mice

In a recent research with mice, the restriction of kilojoules has shown that there are tremendous health benefits that can be applicable to humans. Prof. Simpson argues that reducing food intake and body weight helps improve the body’s metabolic processes. Of course the reduction should be within healthy limits. As such, one may reduce or even eliminate the risk for diseases like diabetes and liver diseases. With proper control of the food we eat we can improve our health not just at the present but as we grow older.

The 40 percent reduction done in mice when applied to humans can benefit us as we age. In addition, Prof. Simpson says that kilojoule restriction will become easier and a better choice for people compared to caloric restriction. The key is eating high quality proteins and healthy carbohydrate food sources.

Based on the Charles Perkins Center research consuming low protein foods accompanied with high carbohydrate foods contribute to long life and improved cardio-metabolic health. On the other hand, consuming high proteins coupled with low carbohydrate diet promotes leaner body and better reproductive health but shorter lifespan and poor cardio-metabolic health.

Healthy eating means longer life
Healthy eating means longer life

A better understanding of our health and eating

Sure enough the topic on health, weight loss, longevity and diet is a continuous debate among experts. So the common person is left to what is available it the market. Or better yet, what the market deceptively “sells” as the latest and breakthrough weight loss program or miracle health diet. Suffice to say, whether we follow counting calories or eating at certain times of the day or whatever diet strategy you use, one thing is important: learn how it will affect your body in the short term and the long term.

I see the research not as another marketing gimmick to get us to buy a product or follow a fitness guru. Rather, it opens my eyes to the reality that our bodies are complex and that it requires the right food. What food and how much becomes a battle ground for the corporate world. But when we break it down to science, we learn that macronutrients in the diet affect our lifestyle and health not just for today but for the years to come.

What’s even amazing here is that this is just the tip of the iceberg. We are just talking about the foods and nutrients we take. There is a host of other factors such as health and fitness exercise and activities, stress management, health and fitness equipment just to name a few. In the end, we are all responsible for our own health. We are the ones who choose what diet programs to follow, what foods we purchase and eat and what lifestyle we choose to follow. I just hope that this research gives you a better handle on health, fitness, diet, weight loss and more importantly proper lifestyle.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)