Sydney University scientists have demonstrated that the diet can be a more efficient means of preventing diabetes, stroke and heart diseases than medicines. The results of preclinical research are presented in the article published in Cell Metabolism.
Australian specialists have developed 40 different diets, which differed from each other by the ratio of macroelements (proteins, fats and carbohydrates), calorie content and content of drugs that provide a powerful anti-aging effect: metformin, rapamycin and resveratrol. It was rated the impact of all types of interventions into a mouse-liver, which is a key organ in the regulation of metabolism.
Researchers found that the largest impact on the liver was the balance of trace elements and calorie content. At the same time, the consumption of protein and high calorie strongly influenced not only for metabolic pathways, but also on fundamental processes that control the functioning of cells, including the activity of mitochondria. At a high level of protein intake, oxidative stress developed when a large number of active oxygen forms are produced, damaging cell membranes, proteins and DNA.
Anti-aging drugs softened the effect of the diet, but did not significantly affect the metabolic reaction of the cell in response to the diet. Thus, immunosuppressant rapamycin and antidiabetic metformin reduced the reaction of mitochondria in the food protein, while Resveratrol suppressed effects from the use of carbohydrates and fats.