
A calorie-controlled diet improves not only your health but also your lifespan, research suggests.

Scientists are digging deeper into the biology behind this to determine the accurate proportions of food items needed to increase your lifespan.

Teams at the University of Southern California have found a new mechanism to increase longevity through a diet mimicking the effects of fasting.

When the body thinks it is in a state of fasting, it can go into standby mode, causing the removal of cells and the regeneration of new ones, via stem cells, keeping the body young.

Caloric control and fasting are common means of weight loss exemplified by the 5:2 diet, in which caloric intake is reduced significantly two days per week.

The fasting-mimicking diet is designed to include specific percentages of protein, fat and carbohydrates for maximum effect. This controls certain pathways inside the body.

When these pathways are controlled and switched on, certain reactions inside the body cause immune cells to die, organs to shrink and the switching on of the body's ability to renew itself.

The fasting-mimicking diet is thought to also reduce risk factors for diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.