Calorie Restriction: Bland Name for a Potentially Dangerous Practice
Running across something like Calorie Restriction (or, Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition [CRON]) is something like entering an alternate reality. There are a lot of familiar things in it, and they all seem to make sense on the surface. And there is something that grows more and more strange as time passes.
Frankly, it's hard to put a finger on why, in this case. Calorie restriction is a practice designed to increase life span, avoid age-related diseases, improve overall health, and so on. Although it requires drastic reductions in food intake, it's highly nutrition-focused. Seems like what American culture needs, right? But does it make sense to take a 1,500-calorie-per-day diet--a drastic measure in any event, in my opinion--and extend it for 40 years?
The problem is that there are some strong similarities with anorexia nervosa. It's not anorexia, but the overlap seems disturbing.
Comments
I read in Reader’s Digest about this, and quite frankly was appalled that such a magazine would suggest something like that. The author suggested that a cut down to 1,200 calories was a good start. I believe it is irresponsible of the magazine to suggest such a thing when not under the supervison of a doctor and dietician. The average American has no idea which foods to eat to get the proper nutrients they need from such a diet.
Agreed. This is why we have doctors and dietitians. And if a person can’t trust his or her doctor, it’s time to get a new one who is trustworthy. At least those who practice CR seriously make sure to get adequate nutrients. I still believe their lives have a good chance of becoming clouded and empty, however (although the limited caloric intake seems to make it feel euphoric).