Millions of us eat these often.
A heart surgeon has named four foods he says are ‘proven’ to shorten lifespan(Image: Getty)
A distinguished heart surgeon has identified four foods “proven to shorten your lifespan”. Dr Jeremy London, a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon boasting over 25 years of clinical expertise, frequently provides health tips and guidance through social media platforms and media appearances. He is certainly not the only medical professional raising concerns about how these foods can affect your longevity and overall health.
In footage shared on social media, Dr London identified the following as being “proven” to reduce your lifespan:
Expanding on this, Dr London described sugary drinks, also referred to as soft drinks and fizzy drinks, as “empty calories” that “never make you feel full”. He has also labelled them as “liquid death” and stated: “Just don’t drink them. Period. Done.”
During an interview with Today, he clarified why he used the term “liquid death”, explaining: “I think that soft drinks are just a scourge in our society, and so I was really trying to get some attention. Obviously, high-calorie soft drinks and ingesting a lot of calories that people don’t realise they’re getting with the sugar-based soft drinks is a big no-no.”
However, he is far from the only prominent medical expert emphasising the dangers of sugary soft drinks. Dr William Li recently informed the Zoe Science and Nutrition podcast: “The preponderance of clinical evidence… shows that high consumption of soda is associated with everything from metabolic disease to cardiovascular disease to cancer risk.”
Class one carcinogens that cause cancer
Regarding alcohol and processed meats, the World Health Organisation classifies both as class one carcinogens, meaning they are carcinogenic to humans. Put simply, they cause cancer (although this doesn’t guarantee you’ll develop cancer from consuming them). The WHO states: “This category is used when there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans. In other words, there is convincing evidence that the agent causes cancer.”
Cancer Research UK similarly notes: “We know for definite that processed meat is a cause of cancer. We are as sure of this link as we are for other proven causes of cancer, like tobacco and alcohol.”
Dr London explained his mention of “excess saturated fats” was meant to encompass “high fat meat, butter, high fat dairy, things of these nature”.
But other prominent scientists might challenge this assertion. For instance, Professor Sarah Berry, an expert in nutrition and cardio-metabolic health at Kings College London, told the Zoe Science and Nutrition podcast the “biggest myth that frustrates me is that dairy is high in saturated fat and therefore increases your risk of heart disease and it doesn’t”.
Nevertheless, ultra-processed foods are often laden with saturated fat, alongside sugar and salt. And there is mounting agreement amongst scientists that ultra-processed foods are more harmful to our health than previously understood. Dr Li, an internationally acclaimed physician and researcher who specialises in cancer and the relationship between diet and health, informed the Zoe podcast: “More and more research is showing that the consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with a higher risk and a higher disease burden… including cancer.”
In his footage, Dr London emphasised that complete avoidance of the foods he highlighted was not necessarily the objective, suggesting that managing to eat healthily 80% of the time constitutes “a win”. He stated: “Look, I understand that life gets in the way and it’s difficult to follow a nutritional plan. For me personally, 80% of the time, that’s a win. Now, understand that what you want to shoot for is reducing these things, living in moderation. What you want to avoid is having any or all of these things foundational in your nutritional plan.”
What is processed meat?
The World Health Organisation defines processed meat as referring to “meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavour or improve preservation”. It states most processed meats contain pork or beef, but processed meats may also include other red meats, poultry, offal, or meat by-products such as blood and provides the following examples of processed meat:
hot dogs (frankfurters)hamsausagescorned beefbiltong or beef jerkycanned meatmeat-based preparations and sauces.Isn’t low alcohol consumption safe?
A recent report from the then-surgeon general of the US Public Health Service cautioned that alcohol consumption had been directly associated with at least seven forms of cancer, and that even light or moderate drinking can elevate your risk of developing the disease.
And Dr Ernest Hawk, vice president and head of the division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, told the New York Times: “There is no safe level of alcohol when it comes to cancer risk.”