There’s nothing wrong with swinging through the drive-thru for a convenient, inexpensive meal, but we all know that fast food isn’t typically that good for us. Now new research is revealing that those heavily processed foods, high in calories and preservatives may be worse for our health than previously thought. According to a new study, fast food could be aging us faster.
The study from Finland analyzes the health of twins between the ages of 20 and 25, including their dietary habits. And it turns out, their fast food intake was particularly concerning.
- The twins who ate fast food, lots of red and processed meat, and sugar-sweetened soft drinks aged biologically faster.
- But those who had diets high in vegetables and fruits, but low in meat, fast food and sugary sodas experienced slower biological aging.
Since this research was done on young adults, study authors point out that sticking to a healthy diet “from a young age” may reduce health risks later in life. While lifestyle factors, like physical activity, smoking and body weight can make a difference, researchers point out that diet is definitely tied to aging. Study author Suvi Ravi explains, “Diet maintained a small independent association with aging even when we accounted for other lifestyle factors.”
Source: Eat This, Not That
Scott's Thoughts:
- Does this mean the cheeseburgers and root beers of my past will come back to haunt me?
- How could something that tastes so good be so bad for us!
- Yeah but who wants to eat broccoli all the time?