What food shortens your life by 6 minutes?
Short answer: Processed meats — such as sausages, bacon and some deli meats — are commonly cited. Epidemiological analyses converting increased mortality risk into estimated life-years lost have produced figures around a loss of about 6 minutes per day for a typical daily serving (commonly 50 g) of processed meat.
Explanation
Researchers use large population studies to measure how daily consumption of specific foods is associated with mortality risk. For processed meat, meta-analyses and risk models that translate relative risk into years of life lost have produced estimates that a single standard daily serving (often 50 g) is associated with a small but measurable reduction in average life expectancy, sometimes reported as roughly 6 minutes per day consumed. These are model-based, population-average estimates that assume the association is causal and depend on serving size, overall diet, lifestyle factors and individual risk. They do not mean one serving immediately shortens an individual’s life by exactly six minutes; rather, they express average risk changes across populations over a lifetime.
Tips
- Limit processed meat intake; follow national dietary guidelines for servings.
- Choose unprocessed lean meats, fish, pulses or plant proteins instead.
- Increase fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fiber to reduce risk.
- Check nutrition labels for sodium and preservatives (nitrites/nitrates).
- Combine dietary changes with exercise, smoking cessation and regular checkups.
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