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Heading For An
Early Grave? Test Reveals Your Fate
From eDiets - The premier online diet, fitness, and healthy living
resource You
think your golden years are ahead of you, but that isnt necessarily the case,
especially if youre making the wrong food moves.
It’s hard to swallow, but the food on your
plate can actually take years off your life. Thats right. What you eat
influences how long you live, and how healthy you will be. OK, so maybe you
think youve heard this all before. Sure, we all know those high fat foods have
caused obesity to run rampant in our society, where more than 61 percent of
adult Americans and 14 percent of children are overweight. And we all know that
obesity and being overweight leads to heart disease, cancer and type 2
diabetes, all conditions that can affect your longevity (READ: Death).
But maybe you haven’t gotten the whole story
when it comes to diet, lifespan and how what you do or don’t or what you
eat and don’t eat means the different between long life and death. eDiets
Director of Nutrition Susan Burke says consuming the wrong foods on a regular
basis is like drinking from a fountain of “age.” Instead of
subtracting years from your life, you’re aging yourself… by years or
even decades.
“The fact is: you aren’t going to live
as long as your healthier counterparts if you don’t follow a well-balanced
diet, and include plenty of antioxidant-rich foods,” says Burke. “The
more fatty foods you eat, the less likely you are to live a long, healthy
life.”
Still not convinced? Your biological age might be
33, but unhealthy habits like eating too much red meat, smoking cigarettes, not
exercising or drinking excess amounts of alcohol may put your body age at 44.
So how do you know what kind of toll your lifestyle is taking on your age?
The Polar BodyAge™ System was
developed by Polar HealthFirst USA and was developed in
conjunction with all of the leading research organizations. The test looks
closely at your health, well-being and lifestyle.
Not only does it use scientific research to
determine your body age, the telling test specifically explains how to put the
brakes on the aging process with simple common sense steps.
It may be increasing your activity level. It may
be eliminating that extra glass of red wine at dinner. Or it may be cutting out
those unhealthy foods that lead to deadly diseases.
According to Burke, there are plenty of
perpetrators out there that could be costing you years. Here’s a
sample:
- Bacon, sausage and ham are high in saturated
fat which raises “bad” cholesterol that leads to coronary heart
disease. High-fat food is also high in calories which contributes to obesity. A
diet that contains regular amounts of high sodium can also lead to hypertension
and fluid retention.
- Sugary cereals lack good nutrition, are high in
calories and contribute to weight gain. Of course, being overweight or obese
leads to other ailments that can drastically affect your lifespan.
- Whole milk is high in saturated fat and
cholesterol which contributes to increased blood cholesterol, and increases
your heart disease risk.
- Donuts, muffins or other pastries contain
excess amounts of sugar, and are usually made with hydrogenated oils or trans
fat, which increase the risk of heart disease at a greater rate than the intake
of saturated fats. That's because trans fats lower HDL, or good cholesterol, as
well as increase LDL or "bad" cholesterol.
- Bagels, english muffins or other processed
bread products are refined white bread with the bran and germ segments removed
thereby lessening the redeeming nutritional value.
- Red meat is another food high in saturated fat.
The Nurses’ Health Study shows that people who eat red meat most often
double their risk for developing lung and colorectal cancer over those who eat
red meat less often.
- Your love of fried chicken, french fries and
potato chips also takes years off your life. Deep-fried processed convenience
and fast foods contain excess amounts of unhealthy trans fat. Diets high in
trans fat are linked to an increased risk for coronary heart disease, and may
increase the risk for cancer.
“One single food will not kill you, nor
cure you!” Burke says. “Eating a hamburger occasionally will not
necessarily contribute to heart disease, and if you’re a total vegan and
eat no animal products at all, there are no guarantees that you will live
longer.
“That said, yearly new research confirms
the fact that populations who eat more plant foods, and less red meat and
saturated fat live longer and suffer less from diseases including heart
disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer. Think of the modifications you can
make in your diet.
“Can you remove skin from your poultry?
Or switch to a broiled chicken breast with lettuce and tomato instead of a
cheeseburger and fries? Or drink nonfat or 1% milk instead of whole milk? Make
simple modifications that pay off in huge dividends, and enjoy a healthier
life.”
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