Energy balance
Dietary restriction (DR) extends lifespan and healthspan in model organisms, but its impact on skeletal muscle mass is complex, potentially attenuating age-related loss in some species while causing absolute mass decrease in others.
Dietary restriction is the most reliable way to extend lifespan in animals. In rats and monkeys, it also helps preserve muscle mass by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. For humans, this suggests that moderate caloric restriction, combined with resistance training and adequate protein, might help maintain muscle function and healthspan, even if it doesn't maximize muscle size. The focus should be on nutrient density and metabolic health rather than just caloric deficit.
DR is the most reproducible intervention, to date, to extend medium and maximum lifespan in various model species... DR appears to delays or prevent age-related loss of SkM mass in rats and rhesus monkeys via attenuation of DNA damage, proteosomal machinery, autophagy, inflammatory signalling and mitochondrial abnormalities
Why this rating
Strong evidence in rodents and primates for lifespan extension and muscle preservation, though human data is less definitive regarding muscle mass retention.
Source
Longevity and skeletal muscle mass: the role of IGF signalling, the sirtuins, dietary restriction and protein intake
Adam P. Sharples et al. · Aging Cell · 2015
DOI 10.1111/acel.12342
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