Less is more: calorie restriction as a therapeutic for mental health disorders
Anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders are prevalent mental health disorders that have debilitating health outcomes, and current treatment options are not always efficacious or tolerable. Calorie restriction (CR) has various health benefits, with research efforts focused on its effects in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1584890/full |
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| author | Jason C. D. Nguyen Jason C. D. Nguyen Antonina Govic Antonina Govic Elizabeth A. Levay Elizabeth A. Levay Matthew D. Zelko Thiruma V. Arumugam Jim Penman Terrance G. Johns Terrance G. Johns Zoran Boskovic |
| author_facet | Jason C. D. Nguyen Jason C. D. Nguyen Antonina Govic Antonina Govic Elizabeth A. Levay Elizabeth A. Levay Matthew D. Zelko Thiruma V. Arumugam Jim Penman Terrance G. Johns Terrance G. Johns Zoran Boskovic |
| author_sort | Jason C. D. Nguyen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders are prevalent mental health disorders that have debilitating health outcomes, and current treatment options are not always efficacious or tolerable. Calorie restriction (CR) has various health benefits, with research efforts focused on its effects in improving metabolic health and delaying biological aging. Recent studies have indicated that CR can also improve anxiety-, depression- and addiction-like symptoms and behavior. Similar benefits have also been observed in studies investigating a range of CR mimetics (CRMs) - molecules that mimic one or more of the physiological effects of CR without dietary restriction - indicating that both CR and CRMs could be used to assist in treating these symptoms. Here, we summarize the current evidence for the potential use of CR and select CRMs in the treatment of anxiety, depression, and addiction, as well as the possible molecular mechanisms underlying these beneficial effects. Finally, we propose novel molecular signatures that could be exploited to screen for novel CRM candidates. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2b0be680c66646f5891ccbe923a08eae |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-2b0be680c66646f5891ccbe923a08eae2025-08-20T02:40:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402025-06-011610.3389/fpsyt.2025.15848901584890Less is more: calorie restriction as a therapeutic for mental health disordersJason C. D. Nguyen0Jason C. D. Nguyen1Antonina Govic2Antonina Govic3Elizabeth A. Levay4Elizabeth A. Levay5Matthew D. Zelko6Thiruma V. Arumugam7Jim Penman8Terrance G. Johns9Terrance G. Johns10Zoran Boskovic11Epigenes Australia Pty Ltd., Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaSchool of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaEpigenes Australia Pty Ltd., Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaSchool of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaEpigenes Australia Pty Ltd., Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaSchool of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaEpigenes Australia Pty Ltd., Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaSchool of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaEpigenes Australia Pty Ltd., Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaEpigenes Australia Pty Ltd., Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaSchool of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaSchool of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaAnxiety, depression, and substance use disorders are prevalent mental health disorders that have debilitating health outcomes, and current treatment options are not always efficacious or tolerable. Calorie restriction (CR) has various health benefits, with research efforts focused on its effects in improving metabolic health and delaying biological aging. Recent studies have indicated that CR can also improve anxiety-, depression- and addiction-like symptoms and behavior. Similar benefits have also been observed in studies investigating a range of CR mimetics (CRMs) - molecules that mimic one or more of the physiological effects of CR without dietary restriction - indicating that both CR and CRMs could be used to assist in treating these symptoms. Here, we summarize the current evidence for the potential use of CR and select CRMs in the treatment of anxiety, depression, and addiction, as well as the possible molecular mechanisms underlying these beneficial effects. Finally, we propose novel molecular signatures that could be exploited to screen for novel CRM candidates.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1584890/fullanxietydepressionsubstance use disordersaddictioncalorie restrictioncalorie restriction mimetic |
| spellingShingle | Jason C. D. Nguyen Jason C. D. Nguyen Antonina Govic Antonina Govic Elizabeth A. Levay Elizabeth A. Levay Matthew D. Zelko Thiruma V. Arumugam Jim Penman Terrance G. Johns Terrance G. Johns Zoran Boskovic Less is more: calorie restriction as a therapeutic for mental health disorders Frontiers in Psychiatry anxiety depression substance use disorders addiction calorie restriction calorie restriction mimetic |
| title | Less is more: calorie restriction as a therapeutic for mental health disorders |
| title_full | Less is more: calorie restriction as a therapeutic for mental health disorders |
| title_fullStr | Less is more: calorie restriction as a therapeutic for mental health disorders |
| title_full_unstemmed | Less is more: calorie restriction as a therapeutic for mental health disorders |
| title_short | Less is more: calorie restriction as a therapeutic for mental health disorders |
| title_sort | less is more calorie restriction as a therapeutic for mental health disorders |
| topic | anxiety depression substance use disorders addiction calorie restriction calorie restriction mimetic |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1584890/full |
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