Calorie restriction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Calorie restriction - Essay Example This understanding stemmed from direct experiences of the early homo-sapiens. Large-animal kills led to abundant food supply and consumption immediately after the kill and a period of fasting or restriction in food consumption after the food from the kill was exhausted. The period of restricted food consumption ended when the next large-animal kill occurred. This cycle of abundant food consumption and restricted food consumption led to the observation that abundant food consumption led to lethargy, while restricted food consumption provided the benefits of heightened alertness. Eating is a pleasurable experience and desisting from eating not an regimen to follow. Yet, at a time when alertness was critical to the hunting of food and protecting the members of the community, restricted food consumption was practiced among hunters and soldiers, so that their alertness was heightened increasing the chances of a successful hunt for the hunters and success in warding of attacks from the ene mies in the case of the soldiers (Mehta & Roth, 2009). The next step in the understanding of the benefits from restricted food consumption, prior to modern science, came from the spread of the early religions and the religious practices that called for fasting. Asceticism comprising of hard rigors including fasting became an extreme form of religious practice. Mehta & Roth, 2009, p.29, quoting Robert Thurman, define asceticism as â€Å"the impulse in human beings to attempt consciously to improve control over their habitual life processes, with a view to bettering their situation at least in a relative, and, if possible, in an ultimate way†. Remnants of asceticism as a religious practice continue even today among the general populace. Fasting is a continued practice among the followers of several religious faiths in the modern world. For example, the Muslims fast for forty days from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, while the Christians observe restricted food consumption dur ing the Lenten period. Prior to the development of modern science, it was religion that provided a systematic means for humans to exert control over their human condition. It was also possible through established religions to communicate the observations, insights, and explanations throughout the populace and spanning generations. For instance, Ayurveda, the popular branch of cultural medicine practiced in India is steeped in such religious observations, insights and explanations, a part of it dealing with the quantum and quality of foods consumed Calorie restriction as a part of modern medical science has become more relevant in the modern world because of the abundance of food and the economic capacity to purchase and consume large quantities of food. Overeating and consumption of rich foods has become more the norm in daily life than a part of feasting during festive days of the yesteryears. As a consequence of the poor eating habits conditions and diseases associated with it lik e obesity and diabetes type 2, high serum cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease have become a bane of society. The beneficial impact of calorie restriction as a medical intervention on these conditions and diseases thus become more relevant to modern society than ever before (Delaney & Walford,