Think you’re mostly healthy when it comes to what you eat and drink? Lots of us do, even though we still indulge in a soda or sweet treat from time to time, but new research may have you rethinking all that. A new study suggests we could be shaving years off our lives with our diets and it breaks down how many minutes we lose with each item.
Researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed more than 58-hundred foods, looking at how things like additives, fats, calories and sugar content affect longevity. And what they found might even make you reconsider your emotional support Coke.
- It turns out, a sugar-sweetened soft drink can shorten life by 12 minutes
- Chicken wings can cut three and a half minutes
- Cured meats, like prosciutto, could cost us 24 minutes
- A serving of cheese can take more than a minute off a healthy lifespan
- A double cheeseburger can steal just under nine minutes
- But hot dogs may be the worst offenders, as each one eaten cuts 36 minutes of “healthy” life.
- Blame it on their preservatives and nitrates, which have been linked to certain cancers.
But the study finds some good news, too. It turns out, you can boost longevity by eating healthier foods. Eating a banana can add 13 and a half minutes to life, while a portion of baked salmon adds 16 minutes, and eating 30 grams of nuts can add another 26 minutes. And if you swap just 10% of daily calories from processed meats and beef for fruits, veggies, legumes and nuts, you could add as much as 48 minutes to your life.
Source: News.com.au