Dietary protein, aging and nutritional geometry
Abstract
Nearly a century of research has shown that nutritional interventions can delay aging and age- related diseases in many animal models and possibly humans. The most robust and widely studied intervention is caloric restriction, while protein restriction and restriction of various amino acids (methionine, tryptophan) have also been shown to delay aging. However, there is still debate over whether the major impact on aging is secondary to caloric intake, protein intake or specific amino acids. Nutritional geometry provides new perspectives on the relationship between nutrition and aging by focusing on calories, macronutrients and their interactions across a landscape of diets, and taking into account compensatory feeding in ad libitum-fed experiments. Nutritional geometry is a state-space modelling approach that explores how animals respond to and balance changes in nutrient availability. Such studies in insects and mice have shown that low protein, high carbohydrate diets are associated with longest lifespan in ad libitum fed animals suggesting that the interaction between macronutrients may be as important as their total intake.
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Moderate protein restriction extends life span, independently of calorie intake, in multiple model organisms, including rodents.
“This is important because accumulating data indicate that moderate protein restriction extends life span, independently of calorie intake, in multiple model organisms, including rodents (73).”
From Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet: Metabolic and Molecular Mechanisms (2018) · cites this paper as [73]
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- Authors
- Simpson, S. J., Le Couteur, D. G., Raubenheimer, D., Solon-Biet, S. M., Cooney, G. J., Cogger, V. C., & Fontana, L.
- Affiliations
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
- Corresponding author
- Simpson, Stephen J.
- Venue
- Ageing Research Reviews
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-10
- Volume
- 39
- Pages
- 78-86
- ISSN
- 1568-1637 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2592218992
- Cited by
- 169
- References
- 62
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 41 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 9
- FWCI
- 1.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Ageing Research Reviews (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Institutional Research Information System (Università degli Studi di Brescia) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (P30DK056341)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Aging › Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Dietary Effects on Health
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Keywords
- dietary protein, aging, nutritional geometry, caloric restriction, protein restriction, amino acid restriction, methionine restriction, compensatory feeding, lifespan, age-related diseases, state-space model
- MeSH terms
- Aging, Animals, Energy Intake, Dietary Proteins, Humans, Longevity, Methionine, Nutritional Status, Diet, Protein-Restricted, Models, Animal, Caloric Restriction
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