Age Wise
The Cost of One Hotdog: 48 Minutes of Healthy Life
New research estimates the benefits of better eating, down to the minute
You’ve heard that improving your diet can make you healthier and help you live longer. Nothing new there. But now scientists have estimated down to the minute the benefits of swapping out just 10% of your bad food choices for healthier items. While it’s hard to know how literally we should take the conclusion, I’m now chastising myself over that Spicy East Coast Italian sub I ate in secret at Jimmy John’s the other day (please don’t tell my wife).
So here it is: Substituting the likes of fruit, veggies, nuts, or beans for the equivalent of one lousy hot dog could buy you an extra 48 minutes of healthy life.
Healthy life is defined as 1) being alive; and 2) living free of health problems ranging from skin irritations to cancer, explains the study’s senior author, Olivier Jolliet, PhD, a professor of environmental health science at the University of Michigan.
Over time, such dietary adjustments add up, Jolliet and former University of Michigan researcher Katerina Stylianou reported last month in Nature Food.
Some simple math: If you’re prone to downing hot dogs or other processed meats on a daily…
