People are chowing down on too much bacon and salty foods while glugging too many sodas.
But we aren’t getting enough healthy fats from nuts and seeds and our poor eating habits are leading to some serious health problems.
According to a new study from Tufts University, bad diets might be contributing to half of all deaths from heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
The team investigated 10 different food groups including fruit, vegetables, seafood, whole grains, nuts and seeds, processed meats, red meat, sugary drinks, salt and salty foods.
Lead study author Renata Micha and her fellow researchers then examined government data on 700,000 deaths from heart disease in the US, stroke or diabetes from 2012 as well as a national survey on people’s eating habits.
The analysis showed that people aren’t gobbling enough “good” foods but are eating too many “bad” foods.
All of the 10 food groups combined contributed to 45% of all deaths, while salt and salty foods in particular caused 10% of deaths.
Meanwhile the results revealed that diets high in processed meats and bacon but low in nuts or seeds was linked to 8% of deaths.
The study authors concluded: “Dietary factors were estimated to be associated with a substantial proportion of deaths from heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
“The largest numbers of estimated diet-related cardiometabolic deaths were related to high sodium (9.5% of all cardiometabolic deaths), low nuts/seeds (8.5%), high processed meats (8.2%), low seafood omega-3 fats (7.8%), low vegetables (7.6%), low fruits (7.5%) and high sugar-sweetened beverages 7.4%).”
These are the “good” foods you should be eating and the recommended servings:
1. Fruits: 3 average-sized fruits daily
2. Vegetables: 2 cups cooked or 4 cups raw vegetables daily
3. Nuts/seeds: 5 1-ounce servings per week (20 nuts per serving)
4. Whole grains: 2 ½ daily servings
5. Polyunsaturated fats: 11 percent of daily calories
6. Seafood: 8 ounces weekly
This is the safe amount of “bad” foods you can eat:
1. Red meat: 1 serving weekly (one medium steak or the equivalent)
2. Processed meat: None recommended
3. Sugary drinks: None recommended
4. Salt: 2,000 milligrams daily (just under a teaspoon)
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