Effects of caloric restriction on human physiology and metabolism

Abstract

Jedan od velikih problema današnjice je starenje tj. bolesti do kojih dolazi uslijed istog. Kako bi se produljio život i kako bi se poboljšala kvaliteta istog došlo je do istraživanja utjecaja različitih okolišnih faktora koji bi mogli pomoći u prevenciji i usporavanju progresije različitih bolesti. Jedan od proučavanih čimbenika je prehrana i smatra se za jednu od jednostavnijih intervencija koje mogu biti od pomoći. U ovom završnom radu govori se o utjecajima prehrane na fiziologiju i metabolizam čovjeka. Postoji nekoliko poznatih načina hranjenja koji imaju pozitivan učinak na fiziologiju čovjeka, a to su kalorijska restrikcija (CR), vremenski-ograničeno hranjenje (TRF), periodični post (IF) i post-oponašajuća dijeta (FMD). Prve dvije navede su detaljnije razrađene u ovom završnom radu koji prikazuje dosadašnja istraživanja na ljudima i modelnim organizmima. Važno je naglasiti kako je jedan od problema istraživanja ovog područja ljudski faktor odnosno nekonzistentnost u pridržavanju ovakve prehrane tijekom duljeg perioda. Kod CR-a navedena su istraživanja i neki mehanizmi koji objašnjavaju utjecaj na starenje, tumorigenezu i angiogenezu, upalne procese te pretilost, dijabetes i kardiovaskularno zdravlje. TRF je nešto manje istražen, ali poznato je da utječe na cirkadijarni ritam organizma te da utječe na tjelesnu težinu, sastav lipida u krvi i kardiovaskularno zdravlje.One of the biggest problems nowadays is aging and the diseases it brings. In order to prolong and improve the quality of life there had been many experiments about influences various environmental factors have on prevention and slowing down the progression of various diseases. One environmental factor had caught the eye among scientists and it is diet which stands for the simplest intervention that might help. Thus, this paper is about effects diet has on human physiology and metabolism. There are several well-known diets which have shown the positive effects on physiology: caloric restriction (CR), time-restricted feeding (TRF), intermittent fasting (IF) and fasting-mimickig diets (FMDs). The first two diets, CR and TRF have been elaborated in this paper which shows researches that have been done by the present with people and animals as subjects. However, it is important to note the main problem investigating this topic is human factor and inconsistency in adhering to this diet for longer period of time. Research done about CR include some mechanisms explaining the effects it has on aging, tumorigenesis and angiogenesis, inflammatory process and obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular health. Despite a small number of reaserch published about TRF, it has been known that it has effect on cyrcadian rhythms, lipid factors, cardiovascular health and helps to reduce body weight