A can of cola 'takes 12 minutes off your life' but it's not the worst, say scientists

Every gulp of cola might evoke memories of youth, but what it's actually doing is stealing precious years from your adult life.

Research examining over 5,800 foods in the American diet discovered that consuming a fizzy drink could rob you of 12 minutes of a "healthy life."

The investigation was carried out by experts from The University of Michigan and featured in the Nature Food journal. The news emerges as households were urged to stop drinking coffee after 2pm in October.

Scientists also found that consuming a hot dog could strip away 36 minutes of healthy living, whilst a 1 oz portion of nuts and seeds would actually contribute 25 minutes.

"Vegetarian and vegan options have become standard fare in the American diet, from upscale restaurants to fast-food chains. And many people know that the food choices they make affect their own health as well as that of the planet," Katerina Stylianou and Olivier Jolliet, two researchers of the study, told The Conversation, reports the Mirror US.

Experts analysed individual foods based on their makeup and worked out the impact of the foods on human health by utilising data from a major epidemiological study called the Global Burden of Disease.

The research also examined the environmental consequences of the different foods using the IMPACT World+ method, which involved scrutinising them throughout their life cycle, and exploring factors like processing, manufacturing, preparation, consumption and waste.

Replacing 10 per cent of your meat consumption with vegetables could contribute 48 minutes of healthy life. The research discovered that replacing just 10 percent of daily calories from beef and processed meats with an assortment of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and selected seafood could extend healthy living by 48 minutes per person each day.

The experts encourage people to incorporate more nutritionally valuable foods into their meals, including field-grown fruits, vegetables, nuts and environmentally-friendly seafood.

They also advise cutting back on heavily processed meat, beef, shrimp and greenhouse-cultivated vegetables.

"The urgency of dietary changes to improve human health and the environment is clear," Jolliet said.

"Our findings demonstrate that small targeted substitutions offer a feasible and powerful strategy to achieve significant health and environmental benefits without requiring dramatic dietary shifts."