Whààt?! Drinking 1 Coke costs this many minutes of your life, research reveals
If we take a look at the world of cola, everything seems to be going smoothly there. For example, Coca-Cola recently introduced a new flavor once again. And not long ago, a serious competitor to Coca-Cola and Pepsi was even launched. All well and good, but it now turns out that we should probably stop drinking cola altogether. At least not if we want to live a long and happy life…
Research from the University of Michigan shows that every time you drink a glass of cola, you lose twelve minutes of your life. Put briefly (and bluntly): each glass of cola means you die 12 minutes earlier. Um… Cheers?
Giving up minutes…
The researchers developed a Health Nutritional Index, which calculated for more than 5,800 foods how many minutes a healthy person gains or loses when a particular food is eaten. More specifically, they looked at marginal health effects: the small, additional changes in someone’s health resulting from consuming a particular food. For cola, this means that you give up 12 minutes of your life when you drink one glass. But it can be worse. If you eat a hot dog, you can lose as much as 36 minutes of your life.
And to think that 40% of American children believe that hot dogs, burgers and bacon are vegetables…
… and gaining minutes
The products that take minutes off your life are all ultra-processed foods. We already know that they are bad for us; they are packed with additives, sugar, fat and salt. But we also know that they disappear into our shopping carts with bizarre ease. The supermarket is full of them.
Fortunately, the study also brings good news. There are foods that can actually add minutes to your life. Eat a banana? Add about 13.5 minutes to your life. With 30 grams of nuts, the research says you gain no fewer than 26 minutes. So you could spend all day doing the math in your head—or take it with a (small) grain of salt and try to enjoy yourself a little too. Life is already too short, after all, right?
Also read:
- Shocking: these 5 supermarket products are most contaminated with illegal pesticides
- 10 Coca-Cola flavors that have (unfortunately) disappeared from the shelves
- Surprise: Ramadan is very healthy
Sources: Metro.uk, news.com.au, University of Michigan
