Scientists at the University of Wisconsin have found something surprising: eating a little less of a nutrient called isoleucine might help people stay healthy as they get older—and could even help them live longer.
The study was done on mice, but the results may be useful for humans in the future too. The research was led by Professor Dudley Lamming and was published in the science journal Cell Metabolism.
Isoleucine is a type of amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, which our bodies need to grow and stay strong. Isoleucine is called an “essential” amino acid because our bodies cannot make it on their own—we must get it from food. You can find isoleucine in high-protein foods like meat, eggs, dairy products, and soy.
It might sound strange that eating less of an important nutrient could be good for you. But in this study, mice that ate a little less isoleucine were actually healthier and lived longer than mice that ate a normal amount. The scientists didn’t remove all the isoleucine—just reduced the amount in their food.
The results were impressive. Male mice on the low-isoleucine diet lived about 33% longer, and female mice lived about 7% longer. These mice also didn’t gain as much weight, even though they ate more food. Their bodies handled calories better and used energy more efficiently.
There were other health benefits too. The mice had more stable blood sugar levels, which can help prevent diabetes. The male mice also had smaller prostates, which is important because the prostate often gets larger with age. There were fewer tumors in the low-isoleucine mice, which suggests a lower risk of cancer.
So, what does this mean for people? It’s too early to say for sure, because humans and mice are different in many ways. We still need isoleucine to survive, so we shouldn’t try to cut it out of our diets completely. But the study does suggest that slightly reducing the amount might help us stay healthier, especially as we age.
One way to do this could be to eat less of certain animal proteins and more plant-based foods, which usually have lower levels of isoleucine. This might help people manage their weight and lower the risk of some age-related diseases.
The researchers also looked at health data from people in Wisconsin. They found that people who were thinner often ate diets lower in isoleucine, which supports the idea that eating less of it might help with weight control.
In the future, this research could lead to new diets or medicines that help the body manage isoleucine in a healthier way. Scientists might even create pills that adjust how the body processes this amino acid.
For now, more studies are needed to understand how isoleucine works in the human body and to make sure it’s safe to change our diets in this way.
This study shows that small changes in what we eat could make a big difference to our health. Learning how to balance nutrients like isoleucine might help us prevent disease and live longer, healthier lives.
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