Eating a hot dog takes 36 minutes of life. The study on the impact of food on health and the environment

    Eating a hot dog takes 36 minutes of life. The study on the impact of food on health and the environment

    A new study has evaluated the health impact of more than 5800 foods by examining how many minutes are gained or lost by consuming them


    Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous

    Eat a hot dog it could cost a whopping 36 minutes to live, while choosing to eat a portion of walnuts could earn you 26.




    This is what emerges from a study by the University of Michigan carried out with the aim of helping Americans to follow healthier and more sustainable diets. The researchers evaluated further 5800 foods, classifying them on the basis of their nutritional values ​​and their possible impact on health and the environment.

    To do this, the researchers used fifteen health risk factors related to food consumption and cross-referenced the data with a method capable of assessing the life cycle impact of food that takes into account various aspects including manufacturing, processing, cooking and production of waste. At that point, the foods were classified based on their nutritional and environmental performance in green, yellow and red foods.

    Among green foods the beneficial and more sustainable ones have been included, i.e. fruit and vegetables grown in the field, legumes, whole grains, nuts and some seafood, to be added to the diet without restrictions.

    I red foods on the other hand, they are the ones to avoid because they damage health and the environment. The red list includes some processed meats, beef, shrimp, pork, lamb, sugary drinks and greenhouse-grown vegetables.

    In addition to attributing a color to foods, the researchers estimated i minutes of life lost or gained following the consumption of different foods. In general, the foods studied ranged from 74 minutes lost to 80 minutes gained per serving. For example, one portion of chicken wings of 85 grams translates into 3,3 minutes of life lost, due to the presence of sodium in trans fatty acids, while a hot dog it would result in the loss of approximately 36 minutes. For comparison, each cigarette smoked takes 11 minutes of life away.



    Those who cannot completely eliminate the foods that take away precious minutes from existence, can try to reduce them, even slightly. In fact, according to the researchers, replacing 10% of the daily caloric intake from beef and processed meats with a mix of selected fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and seafood could reduce the carbon footprint in the diet by a third and allow a gain of 48 minutes of life more per day.


    Follow us on Telegram | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | Youtube


    Reference source: Nature Food

    Read also:

    • Hot dogs: they are bad, they are fattening and they are potentially carcinogenic  
    •  Do you know what's inside a hot dog?
    • After the Nutri-score, France launches the Eco-score, the label that informs about the environmental impact of food  
    add a comment of Eating a hot dog takes 36 minutes of life. The study on the impact of food on health and the environment
    Comment sent successfully! We will review it in the next few hours.