Calorie Restriction Slows Aging of the Gastrointestinal Nervous System
Calorie restriction slows more or less every measure of aging, and here is another - a small study to measure decline in the nervous system cells that control a portion of the intestines: "The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of caloric restriction (CR) on myenteric neurons in the duodenum of Wistar rats during aging. Thirty rats were divided into three groups: the C group (six-month-old animals that were fed a normal diet from weaning until six months of age), the SR group (18-month-old animals that were fed a normal diet from weaning until 18 months of age) and the CR group (18-month-old animals that were fed a 30% CR diet after six months of age). ... The neurons were counted, and the cell body areas were measured. Aging was associated with neuronal loss in the SR group, which was minimized by caloric restriction in the CR group. ... Thus, CR had a protective effect on myenteric neurons during aging."