One of America's favorite foods is also it's deadliest, according to a new study which suggests that eating one hot dog could reduce your lifespan by 36 minutes! Along with a list of other foods that reduce your quality of life and its length, the study also revealed foods that actually help reverse the clock in your favor.
Researchers at the University of Michigan just published the findings of a study that examined 5,800 commonly eaten foods. The study focused on 'healthy life expectancy' - the length of time a person has is disease free and has a good quality of life.
In addition, the study evaluated the life cycle of foods and their impact on the environment, with the goal of getting people to modify their diet to improve their overall health and the environment. They concluded that substituting 10% of caloric intake from processed meat to a mixture of fruits, legumes, nuts, vegetables and select seafoods could add 48 extra minutes of healthy life each day and it would reduce the carbon footprint of your food by 33%.
‘Our findings demonstrate that small targeted substitutions offer a feasible and powerful strategy to achieve significant health and environmental benefits — without requiring dramatic dietary shifts." said study leader Oliver Jolliet.
FOODS THAT REDUCE your healthy lifespan
- Hot dog: -36.3 minutes
- Soft drink: -12.4 minutes
- Double cheeseburger: -8.8 minutes
- Pizza: -7.8 minutes
- Bacon: -6.5 minutes
- Cheddar cheese: -1.4 minutes
FOODS THAT INCREASE your healthy lifespan
- Peanut butter and jam sandwich: +33.1 minutes
- Baked salmon: +13.5 minutes
- Banana: +13.5 minutes
- Tomatoes: +3.8 minutes
- Avocado: +2.8 minutes
- French fries: +1.5 minutes
Relying on the Global Burden of Disease study researchers evaluated each food's nutritional value based on 15 risk factors and disease burden estimates. Other food production factors like water quality of, or whether the manufacturing process caused pollution were also assessed.
Photo Credit: Evan Swigart from Chicago, USA via Wikimedia Commons