Sometimes there’s nothing better than cracking open a cold soda, especially on a hot day, but a study focusing on the impacts of individual health choices might make you think twice the next time you’re craving something fizzy.
The study, conducted by researchers Katerina Stylianou and Olivier Jolliet, analyzed a variety of individual foods based on their composition to help calculate the net benefits or impacts that come with consuming it.
Through their findings, the researchers developed a ‘Health Nutritional Index’, which breaks down exactly how many minutes of life might be lost or gained per serving of each food.
In an article for The Conversation, Stylianou and Jolliet explain that the index is based on a large epidemiological study called the Global Burden of Disease, which determines the risks and benefits linked to multiple environmental, metabolic and behavioral factors, including 15 dietary risk factors.
The researchers took that data and adapted it down to the level of individual foods, while also taking into account more than 6,000 risk estimates specific to each age, gender, disease and risk.
What food can add minutes to your life?
While keeping in mind that everything you eat should be done in moderation, the findings revealed that some of the best foods to help increase your life span include nuts and seeds, with a serving size of 30 grams of nuts and seeds resulting in a gain of 25 minutes of healthy life.
