Time To Eat: The new science of how when we eat affects health, weight and aging

Despite its relative neglect in the field of medicine, nutrition is recognized as an essential component of health. Adequate nutrient supply is necessary for reproduction, growth and maintenance, the fundamentals of any species’ survival. Paradoxically, the most powerful method for increasing lifespan is caloric restriction just short of starvation.

Why?

Because nutrients are so important for survival, it makes sense that systems involved in interpreting nutrient or energy levels would play a central role in regulating reproduction, growth and aging. In the setting of food scarcity, the dramatic increase in energy demands for mating, pregnancy and feeding a newborn are unlikely to be met. Under these circumstances, evolution selected for a longevity program that not only blocks reproductive function but promotes a stress resistant state characterized by cell protection, regeneration and rejuvenation. Such adaptations promote survival and the maintenance of a youthful state that would allow a return to reproductive success when adequate food supply becomes available.

Recent research has identified nutrient-sensing pathways that regulate both lifespan and healthspan. Evolution has conserved these pathways in organisms ranging from yeast to rodents to mammals…