14 DAY TRIAL // If the conclusions of a new scientific study are validated by other researches, it could be that future drugs and therapies used against asthma may also include dieting. Simply put, the team behind the new work demonstrated that consuming fewer calories leads to a decrease in asthma risks.
Studies conducted on unsuspecting lab animals have demonstrated that reduced caloric intake can lead to an increase in overall lifespan. While the effect has not been conclusively proven in humans, many investigators believe that the findings translate into our species as well.
As such, it could be that eating fewer calories could indeed trigger some beneficial health effects, including a reduction in asthma risks. In addition, eating less is also believed to strengthen the body in its fight against cardiovascular diseases, strokes, diabetes and spinal cord injuries.
According to researcher Mark Mattson, caloric restrictions may also be beneficial in the fight against the development of various forms of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, maybe even cancer. This way of addressing diseases is relatively new, so not much is known about its potential uses at this point.
Mattson, who holds an appointment as a neuroscientist with the US National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute on Aging (NIA), in Baltimore, argues that people who are overweight or obese should start practicing caloric restrictions right away.
The investigator presented his latest findings at the annual meeting of the American Association of the Advancement of Science (AAAS 2012), in Vancouver, Canada. Full details of his work were published last year, in the International Journal of Obesity.
The paper details an experiment in which women who are at risk of developing breast cancer were asked to consume 25 percent fewer calories for about 6 months. At the end of the trial period, they displayed less inflammation, and reduced levels of hormones associated with the development of cancer.
In lab studies conducted on mice that were genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer's, researchers found that reducing caloric intake provided a protective effect against the onset of this neurodegenerative form of dementia.
But the research also demonstrates that some conditions would not benefit from reduced caloric intake. According to Mattson, people suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease would fare a lot worse if they were subjected to dieting, LiveScience reports.