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In 2002 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported these as the ten leading causes of death*:

1. Heart Disease
2. Malignant Neoplasms (Cancer)
3. Cerebrovascular disease (Hypertension, high blood pressure, stroke)
4. Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease
5. Unintentional Injury (Accidents)
6. Diabetes Mellitus
7. Influenza & Pneumonia
8. Alzheimer's disease
9. Nephritis (kidney infection)
10. Septicemia (sepsis, or whole body inflammation)

All else being equal (meaning you don't smoke or abuse alcohol or drugs), calorie restriction, or CR, can have a powerful impact in reducing many of these calamities, especially the most serious: Heart Disease, Cancer, High-Blood Pressure, Stroke, Diabetes and even Alzheimer's. Learn more... or skip the science lesson and move on to creating CR meals.

Calorie Restriction with Optimum Nutrition: Introduction

Calorie Restriction with Optimum Nutrition, or CRON, is an acronym given to a diet -- and a lifestyle -- by doctor and UCLA professor of pathology, Roy L. Walford. Walford's experiments, building on research conducted since the 1930's, confirm that laboratory animals whose calories -- not nutrition -- have been reduced increases both average and maximum lifespan. Walford began his experiments in the 1960s. Since then, other scientists (e.g., Weindruch and Spindler) have come to similar conclusions -- the primary conclusion being: Calorie Restriction is the only proven, research-backed technique currently known to science which extends lifespan and ones "healthy years".

What about humans? Calorie restriction has been proven for all types of living things: from microorganisms, cats, dogs, cattle and, more recently, primates. The only official (controlled) human study was conducted back in the early 1990s inside Biosphere 2 -- a giant, sealed greenhouse in Arizona (image on left). Walford, the official Biosphere 2 physician, and seven colleagues, participated in this project. For two years, the crew lived inside the hermetically enclosed structure, farming for a living. Serendipitously, the crew could not grow enough plant food to support a standard diet. Despite having less to eat, the quality of the diet was optimum: rich in vegetables; devoid of "junk" and processed foods. The results gained from the CRON diet was remarkable. Important "biomarkers" of aging, such as cholesterol and blood pressure, had improved significantly. These results indicate that several of the effects of CRONing apply to humans just as they do for lab animals.

What other human studies are there? None as extensive, nor done with the same level of control as in the Biosphere project. However, "uncontrolled" experiments (empirical reports) have revealed that Okinawans, who consume only 70 percent of the calories of their neighboring Japanese mainlanders have, among their number, "up to 40 times as many centenarians as their countrymen." Recently, a remarkable new study, -- which several volunteers participated in at Washington University, St. Louis, -- concluded calorie restriction reduces risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes. [Continued]

Currently, calorierestriction.org is constructing an official report by studying a much larger sample of humans who are privately practicing calorie restriction (CR). If you practice calorie restriction and have medical records documenting your progress, please visit this all-important site for instructions in how to participate.

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