It will come as no surprise to read that our diets have a marked effect on our long-term health and longevity. But when researchers at the University of Michigan set out to quantify the health impact of different foods, drinks and snacks, the results were disturbing.
They created a health nutrition index that assessed the nutritional impact and carbon footprint of nearly 6,000 foods and calculated the health burden of each. Their findings showed that every hot dog a person eats takes 36 minutes of their healthy life expectancy. Soft drinks (like coca cola) shortened life by 12 minutes, bacon by six minutes, and each double-devoured cheeseburger shaved in just under nine minutes. Research also revealed that each serving of cheese eaten can take more than a minute in a healthy life.
But before we set aside the big heads of the weekend, it’s not all bad news; the index also showed that it is equally possible add minutes to our healthy life expectancy by eating better food. For example, it was shown that each banana contributed 13 and a half minutes of life, as did a portion of baked salmon.
Interestingly, the researchers also found that a peanut butter and gelatin sandwich (after all, the study was conducted in America) provides 33 minutes of life. The study suggests that this is due to the high content of nuts, as nuts are so good for us. The same cannot be said for a jam sandwich.
At this point, you may be wondering: Of course, hot dogs shouldn’t be the mainstay of our diet, but surely having one from time to time can’t hurt? The study’s authors have said the figures do not translate into wholesale dietary changes and that each food contributes to a “unique equation” that varies from person to person. So no, eating a single hot dog won’t necessarily shave you 36 minutes of your life in real time, but almost all experts agree that the category they belong to (ultra-processed foods) is seriously bad news for to our health.
A growing number of studies link UPFs (which now account for more than half of the average person’s daily calorie intake in the UK) to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. A study by the University of Navarra found that UPFs make the body age faster and increase the risk of mortality from all causes.
Increasingly, experts are sending the message that calories are not created equal, it is important where they come from. A flagship study by the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes, Digestivity, and Kidney Disease in 2019 fed two groups of participants on “equally enjoyable” diets that combined with calories, sugar, fat, fiber, and macronutrients. The only difference is that one group was fed ultra-processed foods and the other unprocessed.
The results were clear: the ultraprocessed group ate an additional five hundred calories a day and gained a significant amount of weight (one kilogram for two weeks). Therefore, it is worth paying attention to what we put on the plates.
These are the foods to be wary of and some equally delicious alternatives.