There is a lot of interest in the healthy effects (benefits) of low carbohydrate diets and now longevity and lifespan. In 2017 there was an extensive study published in Lancet (a highly regarded journal) that compared diets to the risk of various endpoints including death, major cardiovascular events, stroke and heart failure. The authors concluded: "High carbohydrate intake was associated with higher risk of total mortality, whereas total fat and types of fat were related to lower total mortality.

"M. Dehghan, et al., "Associations of Fats and Carbohydrate Intake with Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality in 18 countries from Five Continents (PURE): A Prospective Cohort Study," Lancet 390, no. 10107 (2017):2050-62.

In a more recent, small study, an 8 – week diet and lifestyle treatment that measures DNA methylation age (DNAmAge test) was given to 43 men, aged 50 to  72. The diet was a plant-based, low carbohydrate diet with limited animal proteins. The diet was supplemented with a vegetable and fruit powder and a probiotic.

The lifestyle group was advised to do a minimum of 30 minutes of physical exercise daily and to perform breathing exercises twice daily to reduce stress. The control group did not receive any interventions.

The healthy diet/lifestyle group had scores averaging 1.96 years younger at the end of the program than at the beginning, while the control group participants averaged 1.27 years older at the end.

Note: DNA methylation is a chemical reaction that takes place when a methyl group attaches to DNA, changing the expression of a gene to which it is attached. The DNAmage test is considered the most accurate method to assess whether an epigenetic intervention (s) is slowing or reversing biological aging. The difference between the healthy diet/lifestyle group and the controls (no intervention) was 3.23 biological years.

Interesting study that certainly needs further investigation and verification (SJF)

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