![[GO TO BEN BEST'S HOME PAGE]](../homeback.gif)
HOME PAGE
The CRAN list was a mailing list for dialog among people who practiced CRAN (or were interested in the practice of CRAN). I administered this list between October 1997 and May 1998, until it became clear to me that I was the only person with a serious interest in maintaining the list and the others were more interested in the CR Society list as an outlet for discussion of these issues. For historical interest I make the archives available.
This directory contains the monthly archives of postings to the ListServer group which was known as CRAN. CRAN is an abbreviation for Caloric Restriction with Adequate Nutrition -- a practice adapted from the writings and research of Dr. Roy Walford, among others. CRAN experiments on mice and other animals have decisively demonstatedthat this technique can extend maximum lifespan (over 50% with over 50% restriction) -- and YOUTH is extended. " Adequate" in this context means " adequate to prevent deficiency disease" , not " adequate for optimal life-extension" or " adequate to win the Mr./Ms. WORLD contest" , etc. There have been animal studies establishing life extension with reduced calories and " adequate nutrition" , but there is currently no scientific basis for specifying what diet is " optimal" . (An optimal diet would surely include many phytochemicals -- which I get from the many fruits and vegetables I include in my diet.)
CRAN is also an effective means of reducing the incidence of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and adult-onset diabetes, the three non-infectious diseases that cause most deaths in industrialized societies. It has now been established that the thinnest people are the healthiest, if the effect of smoking and undisclosed wasting disease is eliminated [NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE 333:686-692(1995)]. The high death rate among victims of anorexia nervosa is probably due to excessively rapid weight loss combined with inadequate nutrition.
Although the strongest scientific evidence exists for the life-extending properties of CRAN, there is scientific evidence for the life-extending properties of supplements. Antioxidants have been shown to extend average lifespan, but not maximum lifespan. Deprenyl and a numberof other supplements have extended the maximum lifespan of rodents in some experiments. (See LIFE SCIENCES 45:525-531 (1989), LIFE SCIENCES47:415-420 (1990) and AGE 15:133 (1992)]). Too few experiments of this nature have been performed.