Fig. 3.

Calorie restriction and “calorie restriction-inspired” approaches for preventing and reversing vascular aging. Caloric restriction (i.e., energy intake restriction without malnutrition) prevents or reverses vascular aging, primarily by inducing a low-cellular energy state and modulating key energy-sensing pathways such as AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), the deacetylase sirtuin-1 (SIRT-1), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and autophagy. However, chronic caloric restriction is not practical in older adults. As a result, there is considerable interest in determining the safety, efficacy, and adherence of alternative, caloric restriction-inspired approaches for healthy vascular aging. One such caloric restriction-inspired approach presently under investigation is time-restricted feeding, which entails consuming all daily calories within a shorter time period (e.g., 8 h) than normal and fasting for the remainder of the day.