A study that evaluated more than 5,800 foods in the American diet found that drinking a soda could subtract 12 minutes of a ‘healthy life’
Every gulp of fizzy pop might remind you of your youth, but it’s actually nicking precious time from your adult years.
A study that scrutinised over 5,800 foods in the American diet discovered that sipping a soft drink could rob 12 minutes of a “healthy life.”
This research was carried out by boffins from The University of Michigan and published in the Nature Food journal. The study also found that scoffing a hot dog could knock off 36 minutes of a healthy life, while a 1 oz serving of nuts and seeds could actually add 25 minutes. The news emerges as everyone in UK told to take 4p pill every day for five months.
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“Vegetarian and vegan options have become standard fare in the American diet, from posh restaurants to fast-food chains.
“And many people know that the food choices they make affect their own health as well as that of the planet,” Katerina Stylianou and Olivier Jolliet, two researchers of the study, told The Conversation, reports the Mirror US.
Researchers cracked the code of individual foods based on their composition.
Then they calculated the effect of the foods on human health using data from a large epidemiological study called the Global Burden of Disease.
The study also delved into the environmental impacts of the various foods using the IMPACT World+ method.
This involved analysing them all through their life cycle, and looking into factors like processing, manufacturing, preparation, consumption and waste.
Swapping 10 percent of your meat intake with vegetables could add 48 minutes of healthy life.
The research discovered that swapping just 10 percent of daily calories from beef and processed meats for a range of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and selected seafood could grant an additional 48 minutes of healthy living per person each day.
The researchers encourage people to incorporate more nutritionally valuable foods into their meals, including field-grown fruits, vegetables, nuts and environmentally-friendly seafood.
They also suggest cutting back on highly processed meat, beef, shrimp and greenhouse-cultivated vegetables.
“The urgency of dietary changes to improve human health and the environment is clear,” Jolliet said.
“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.”