Forget the drastic reduction in carbs and calories called for by diet dictators. The day when people can eat their favorite foods, stay thin and live to be 120 without getting age-induced diabetes or cancer may be nearer than we think. Researchers at MIT believe they’ve found the key to a long, lean, healthy life in a single protein that controls whether a mammal stores fat or sheds it. The work could lead to drugs that mimic that protein, allowing human beings to get the longer lifespan and other benefits of extreme caloric reduction without the negative side effects, said MIT Professor of Biology Leonard Guarente. Guarente and other scientists have known for decades that controlled famine can extend the lifespan of mammals by as much as 50 percent and that those long-lived, lean mammals don’t get the diseases of old age. But just how a vastly reduced caloric intake achieves that feat has been a mystery begging for a solution--until now.
