Restricted Calorie Intake Is Linked With Healthier Heart

A study by U.S. and Italian researchers finds that people who have significantly restricted their caloric intake for an average of seven years have healthier, younger hearts. The researchers studied 22 people who restricted their calorie intake but ate healthy diets, and 20 people who ate a standard Western diet. Average age was about 51. The study focused on changes in heart rate variability, a measurement that tells a lot about the way the autonomic nervous system affects the heart. In the study, those who restricted their calorie intake over long periods of time had higher heart rate variability, and thus a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.