One of the things that tends to interest people more than almost anything else is health. We talk about the need to diet and exercise regularly, and it seems to work its way into almost any conversation.
There are some people who take living a healthy lifestyle to the extreme, and others who eat with wild abandon, not giving any thought to what they are actually putting in their bellies. Scientists have also spoken out about this in an interesting study recently, that revealed something about processed foods.
According to that study, eating ultra-processed foods, including eating hot dogs could shorten your life. This may take many people by surprise, but if you are a nutritionist, it is not going to surprise you in the least.
The study took place at the University of Michigan. They took a look at many ultra-processed foods to see how much time each of them would shave off of your lifespan. The results were alarming.
The study, which took place in 2021, included many ultra-processed foods. Pizza, mac & cheese, cured meats, and hotdogs were all on the list.
For example, if you do eat a hot dog, it would likely cost you 36 minutes off of your life. Eating cured meat would shave about 24 minutes off of your lifespan.
For those who drink soda, you can deduct 12 minutes of life for every bottle.
To be honest, many of us are probably wondering at this point why we are still living in the first place.
On the other side of the coin, if you eat the right food, it may actually improve and increase your lifespan. This includes certain types of fish that could add up to 28 minutes per serving.
Fruits and vegetables, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and many other foods were found to be good for your lifespan.
The leader of the study, Dr. Olivier Jolliet said: “The urgency of dietary changes to improve human health… is clear.
“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.”
Sounds like we all have some important choices to make.