4. Caloric Restriction Can Slow Aging in a Context-Dependent Manner

Caloric restriction and related dietary interventions can slow aging by shifting resource allocation toward maintenance, reducing some forms of damage production, and remodeling metabolism and signaling. In the deleteriome framework, the key is not calories per se but how diet changes the balance between production of deleterious by-products and investment into repair and quality control. Diet also interacts with circadian timing, immune tone, and tissue remodeling, which can differentially affect organs. The same framework predicts why benefits can be context-dependent and why the most effective dietary strategies differ across individuals and life stages, e.g., the same calorie restriction regimen may be beneficial for some people yet detrimental for others.