12 minutes. That is the exact amount of life that, according to researchers at the University of Michigan, you lose every time you drink a soft drink. It does not matter whether it has sugar or is the diet version: both subtract — they just do it through different pathways. 🧪
Dr. Olivier Jolliet’s team analyzed more than 5,800 foods and calculated their real impact on life expectancy. Sugary soft drinks mainly harm the digestive system; those that use aspartame — that sweetener almost 200 times sweeter than sugar — are associated with circulatory diseases. And if you add a hot dog to that, there go 36 more minutes. A hamburger, 9. Ham, 24. ⏱️
Now for the part that makes you think: Mexico is the country that consumes the most soft drinks in the world, with 163 liters per person per year. If you drink one a day, in a month you are already 6 hours shorter on life just from that habit. By contrast, a serving of fish can add up to 28 minutes. The calculator does not lie. 🐟