{
  "id": 8930749,
  "title": "Can nutrients in our foods mimic calorie restriction and increase our healthspan?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/can-nutrients-in-our-foods-mimic-calorie-restriction-and-increase-our",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-21T13:40:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-nutrients-foods-mimic-calorie-restriction.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The healthspan, or years spent in good health, is often longer than life expectancy, which measures the number of years lived. In 2021, global life expectancy was 71.4 years, while healthy life expectancy was 61.9 years, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy has widened in most countries since 1990. Functional healthspan describes how long someone maintains the capacities required for independent living, and it varies among individuals due to factors like declining muscle strength and mass, reduced aerobic fitness, and low-grade inflammation. Various factors, including diet, physical activity, and sleep, can influence how well we age. One approach to improving healthspan is calorie restriction, which involves reducing energy intake by about 20-40% while still obtaining essential nutrients. This method can extend lifespan in some organisms, but its effects in humans are less certain. Researchers are also studying compounds called calorie-restriction mimetics (CRMs), which may produce similar cellular effects without requiring people to eat less. These compounds are found in food and may reduce cell growth signals, encourage autophagy, and influence how cells sense energy, function metabolically, and support mitochondria. Spermidine, a CRM found in wheat germ, mushrooms, legumes, and nuts, has been associated with a lower risk of death in an observational study of U.S. adults. However, a larger trial involving 100 older adults with subjective cognitive decline did not find that spermidine-rich supplements improved memory. Resveratrol, found in grapes and berries, has been linked to improved muscle strength, power, and resistance to fatigue when combined with exercise. Quercetin, found in onions and apples, has shown some benefits in older adults during resistance training, but overall evidence is limited. Urolithin A, produced by gut bacteria from ellagitannins in pomegranates and walnuts, has improved muscle endurance and mitochondrial health in some trials, but it did not significantly improve six-minute walking distance or muscle energy production. While these studies suggest potential healthspan benefits, they primarily examine supplements rather than whole foods and do not confirm whether proposed cellular mechanisms caused the observed changes. Experts caution against relying on individual compounds from supplements, emphasizing the need for more reliable evidence from overall dietary patterns.",
  "summary": "Scroll through social media and you will soon encounter advice about living longer, from fasting plans and supplements to elaborate daily routines. Yet reaching an advanced age tells us little about how healthy or independent those later years will be.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}