EAT LESS LIVE LONG

His face was that of a man of sixty or so and straight as pine sapling. Also he walked with a long and springy stride. Then he started to jog. When I manage to catch him he was not even breathing hard.
"Excuse me," I said, striking up a conversation, "nowadays, most doctors recommend only walking for people of fifty or over." "I know," he replied, I too keep abreast of latest news on fitness, but I trust my own body to tell me what is good and what is not. I feel all the better for a good morning's road-walk run. I've been doing it since last fifty years. I also swim, do a few push-ups and sometimes skip with an inch-thick cotton rope.
"And you suffer no ill-effects?"
" On the contrary I feel awful if I miss even a single day's workout."
But what is the secret of your remarkable health? Most people of sixty are content to just sit before TV. and watch the world go by.
What do you think my age is?
Judging by face look about sixty But by the way you walk and jog I would place you in your early fifties.
"I will not see my seventy-seventh birthday again," he replied with justifiable pride.
And is it due to your strenuous lifestyle?
Not entirely, on the other hand my ability to live like this is due to the fact that I have cut down my calories.
Most people in Pakistan have a firm belief that one's intake of large quantities of rich foods is directly related to one's health and well being. Also that bulk and obesity are synonymous with vigor and strength. Hence we often see even people of middle and even low-income groups gobbling mouthfuls of oily halva-paratha or mountainous plates of greasy pulao studded with gobbets of meat. Modern research shows that for those us who have attained our full growth, a diet that yields fewer calories leads us to better health and even extends our active and productive years.
Experiments on insects, rodents and even primates like monkeys have proved that those kept on a restricted diet become healthier, remain more active and energetic and outlive those of their species who are allowed to eat their fill.
A calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree at one atmospheric pressure. All food consumed by us, is converted into calories and food rich in fats, proteins, sugars yield more calories than others do. Within the cells of our bodies calories are converted into adenosine triphosphat, or TCP for short, and it is this remarkable chemical, which is manufactured in the mitochondria or the power plant of the cell, that supplies the energy to our muscles to contract and function.
However, during the process some oxidizing agents known as free radicals are also created and it is these byproducts that damage and even deform the cells. When the cells are deformed they malfunction and

their ability to manufacture TCP is impaired and the body, which is healthy or otherwise as the cells it is composed of, begins to feel tired and exhausted and ages be4fore its time. A low calorie diet inhibits the production of free radicals. ON all this researchers are in complete agreement. However there are two schools of thoughts among the scientists. The first is that a lower intake of calories can result in a more efficient consumption of oxygen. Thus none is left over to form any harmful byproducts. The second group holds that reduction of calories helps reduce the level of hormone produced by thyroid gland, which helps generate free radicals.
Be that as it may, a fact that tends to support the theory that a cut down in the calories intake leads to better health. In Islamic societies it has been seen during the holy month of Raman when people fast and if they resist the temptation to stuff themselves to repletion with rich foods at Iftar and dinner, they experience a general sense of health and well-being. Also in England when calorie rich foods like butter, eggs and sugar were in short supply and strictly rationed during the Second World War, the general health of people improved.
How much reduction in intake of calories should be made to achieve this result? In the experiments with insects and animals mentioned above it was observed that a reduction of twenty five to thirty percent (but without depriving them of the minimum needs of the basic vitamins and minerals which were given as supplements) increased their life span by corresponding amount, i.e. twenty five to thirty percent, as compared to the control groups of the same species which were on the unrestricted diet. The reduced calorie diet did not in any way effect their physical activity or reduce their procreative powers, on the other hand they seemed to be more active and lived foe much longer period than their well or over-fed companions.
In the case of normal city dwelling adult, usually a sedentary worker, the average daily requirement of calories is between 2000 and 2500, depending on his or her physical activity and season of the year (one needs more calories in the cold weather than in the hot summer). A simple way of calculating one's minimum requirements is by one's weight. One gram or 0.o4 ounce of protein and about half a gram of fat is needed for every kilogram of weight. However one must adopt, preferably in consultation with one's doctor, so that neither gains nor loses any weight.
"How did you manage to cut down your calories?" I asked the remarkably healthy man mentioned at the beginning of this article."
"Simple." He replied. "I cut out one meal----my dinner. I make do with light repast of fruit, yogurt or biscuit or two. Unlike other meals, a heavy dinner is not digested by the day's hectic activity. I now manage quite well on two meals.

MR: M.A.Abbasi.