WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE wrote: "A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king." He could have added, "or fish with the worm that eventually gets us all."

Studies show that restricting calories in worms, insects, mice and rats prolongs their lives. This usually means eating about 25 per cent less than they would normally consume to maintain normal weight. It's been labelled "undernutrition without malnutrition."

This is a strange conclusion. If we don't die from a premature heart attack, hypertension and complications of diabetes, this surely translates into longer life. And we know "overnutrition" is currently causing a worldwide epidemic of obesity that drastically shortens lives.