April's CR Diary

And if they do, could they please make a copy and send it up to Canada? I'd be happy to pay their cost plus the shipping!! JD(a.k.a. MoMR)

TRANSCRIPT BELOW:

Now, what would you think if I told you the secret to living a really long, healthy life is to practically starve yourself. It doesn't sound too sensible, at all, doesn't sound like much fun, either but some research is actually pointing in that direction and some people are trying it. Keith Oppenheim introduces us to two of them tonight for tonight's "vital signs."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): April Smith and Michael Ray live together in Philadelphia. They're making a nice lunch. Grape tomatoes and scallops sauteed with cilanto, a side salad of Arugula and fresh berries. While they cook, April and Michael do a lot of math.

APRIL SMITH, CALORIE RESTRICTED DIETER: Do you have the count on that honey?

It's quite easy. It's 550 ccs, so it's 1.1 calorie per milliliter.

OPPENHEIM: April and Michael are members of what's called the calorie restriction society. They count every morsel they eat. Michael says every day he takes in exactly 1,913 calories. April aims for around 1,300. Michael takes at least 30 nutritional supplements daily and on the kitchen counter, they both use software to make sure they get all their nutrients, the right balance of fats, carbs and proteins.

SMITH: I go ahead and enter the specific grams of the food and I adjust it to get the right macro nutrient ratios and the right calorie levels. For example, his lunch is 594 calories.

OPPENHEIM: Michael, age 35, is an eight-year veteran of the diet, once 145 pounds, he now weighs just 115, and he's six feet tall. But both say they're not doing this to get skinny. Do you hope to live longer? Is that part of this?

SMITH: Certainly, that's the whole reason I'm doing this, to live longer younger.

OPPENHEIM: Since 1935, research has shown animals from insects to mice to dogs that eat a low-cal, high-nutrition diet live longer. Some possible reasons? Scientists believe the leaner diet produces fewer molecules called free radicals, which can cause wear and tear on DNA, proteins and lipids inside a cell. Since 1989, Doctor Richard Weindruch of the University of Wisconsin has done calorie restriction research on rhesus monkeys. And we look at monkeys because why?

PROF. RICHARD WEINDRUCH, U OF WISC DEPT OF MED: Because they're very, very similar to humans biologically.

OPPENHEIM: In a group of 78 monkeys, half have been getting a diet where they can eat as much as they choose. The other group gets a calorie restrict or CR diet, 30 percent less food with vitamins added to bolster nutrition. Dr. Weindruch says the CR monkeys are healthier.

WEINDRUCH: They have 70 percent less fat than the normally fed animals and they've been completely protected from the development of diabetes.

OPPENHEIM: Not only are the CR monkeys living longer, they look better, too. Consider the contrast between one monkey on a normal diet and another that's been on CR.

(on-camera): This is Owen. He's 26 years old. You can see that he's getting kind of gray and staff say that he is more arthritic and kind of frail. Compare Owen to Kantel over here (ph) who's just a little bit younger. He's one year younger. You can see that he's quite spry, noisy monkeys here and staff say that he looks exceptionally good for his age.

(voice-over): Bottom line, it's too soon to say that CR is extending the lives of these monkeys, but that's exactly where the research is pointing. But is what's good for monkeys also good for mankind? At Washington University in St. Louis, researchers have been conducting a study with 25 people who have been on a calorie- restricted diet for an average of six years. Dr. Luigi Fontana says, compared to 25 other people of the same age on a typical American diet, the heart tissue of the CR patients appears to be about 15 years younger.

DR. LUIGI FONTANA, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: They have no inflammation whatsoever going on in their body, and also the images of their arteries are very young. They have a very healthy and young cardiovascular system.

OPPENHEIM: Keep in mind this study has a small number of subjects, and so far CR data for humans is not conclusive. Other scientists question whether subtracting all those calories will really add that many years to human life.

JOHN PHELAN, EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST, UCLA: Do you want to be the guinea pig that says, OK, starting at 20 and continuing on for six decades, I'm going to restrict my caloric intake even though there's some pretty good theoretical evidence that says I'm going to get very little benefit?

OPPENHEIM: Some people on CR diets have reported downsides. They get cold. Their sex drive slows down, though April Smith and Michael Ray insist that's not a problem for them. They believe in the dream of calorie restriction, that they could live up to 120 years, unless advances in biotechnology help them to live even longer. Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: Good for them, but I'm not giving up my nachos. But if you're thinking about going on a calorie restricted diet, a couple of notes. First you should consult a dietitian. Weight loss without proper nutrients could lead to malnutrition and remember, as you just heard one of the scientists say, that beyond diet, heredity plays a significant role in how long we all live.