Can you reverse damage from a bad diet?

A recent study claims that eating a hotdog reduces life expectancy by 38 minutes, and eating salmon could extend it by 70 minutes. At face value, this data implies you can eat your way to immortality. Taken with a pinch of salt, it suggests you can offset the harm from poor dietary choices. But does food really work this way?

In today’s short episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan and Sarah ask: can you reverse the effects of a bad diet?



This podcast was produced by Fascinate Productions.

[brandon]

I think it's important to remember that we can occasionally have less healthy foods as a treat, but they shouldn't be a major part of our diet. If you have them less often, it can have a significant effect on your health, especially if you make healthier foods the main part of your diet.

[charlespaynter]

This information and your other work is absolutely transformational. If widely disseminated it will hopefully educate a significant proportion of consumers to understand their body and seek out healthier food options which in turn will feed back through the food production and processing industry. Consumer knowledge is the key component to drive this change. As a farmer and Zoe participant I see so many parallels with how I'm approaching my farm management to what I'm learning about my diet. The focus for us is the now buildingof healthy soil biomes to help us be more self reliant, have greater resilience against severe weather events, reduce input costs and be more profitable. A likely spin off from this will be farm produce that's more nutritionally diverse, requires less pesticide treatments, improves water and air quality, possibly sequesters valuable amounts of CO2 and halts the profound decline in biodiversity. Its all about biology as the fundamental constant and its all interconnected. Kudos to you guys!

[crspbeatzplz]

I have fasted on and off for 15 years. 16:8, OMAD, ADF with the occasional 48 or 72 hours fast thrown in monthly. I have found that fasting heals every and any ailment caused by bad dietary habits.

[redjacc]

yes you can, i had almost constant indigestion due to a poor diet. All i got from GP's were pills, no check on what i was eating. I wanted to make a change and google this issue and changed my diet and now i never get indigestion.

[lio]

Excellent video. Thank you Jonathan and Sarah and no doubt others who helped make this video great.

[sgilluk]

To live up to your Science & Nutrition strap line you really ought to provide links to the key research you mention in the Description. This would be quick and easy to do and very helpful.

[jimbrooker]

Fascinating thanks. Could you share some key references please 🙏🏼

[abidavies]

I'm surprised references aren't mentioned or listed. Unless I'm just missing them.
Fascinating and helpful if all true. I always wish I'd taken bloods whilst eating meat etc and now as a vegan. I'm sure I'm still not that healthy but the comparison would have been interesting

[oldplucker]

Wheat products were giving me indigestion at night with acid reflux. Also eating late was bad. I now avoid all the products with ingredients marked in bold and eat real foods and avoiding ready meals and sweets and quick snack foods. I also avoid broccoli and kale and brassicas. I use better oils and fry as little as possible and at low temperature. I eat lots of fruits and now the only nuts I eat are native and without the brown toxic skins.
I avoid all other toxins like alcohol and caffeine and only eat nitrite free processed meats like bacon and ham.
Result, wonderful.

[heqaib]

Fascinating as always. Even Including specific recommendations!

[OGSarah]

There is no universe where I believe this woman is 50 years old. 38 MAX

[thomasrobinson]

Sorry folks, I'm never eating grains again. Nuts and seeds are much better.

[stephaniehenderson]

This good and bad foods idea does sound like the scheme there was to have a little wheel on foods with sections showing red, amber or green for go on elements such as fat content, sugar content, salt content etc. It was a brilliant scheme, but the food industry rejected it for a much more complex numbers table. We have to acknowledge that there are powerful lobbying forces about trying to mix up these messages and determine how to deal with this worrying problem. One thing I have come across is the Henry Programme in the UK working with parents of very young children, it is rare for parents to be able to access it though.

[barriesmith]

Iv live a great life and eaten all kind of food I’m told that I eat the wrong foods and sometimes the hygiene has been a bit questionable wild food in Australia outback to all kinds of processed food mainly cold cut sausage’s at my age I’m happy with my life to date no longer young done my three score and ten plus over ten

[procrastipractice]

The life expectancy study is called "Estimating impact of food choices on life expectancy: A modeling study". You can find details about the different diets in the paper.

[lornaherring]

I don't want a longer life but I would like a comfortable one which as a coeliac I don't have.I love meat, fish everything but gluten hates me

[cnrhghs]

Results are kinda what one would expect since it generally agrees with the vast majority of science i.e. eating more plant based leads to better health

[lindyvandenbosch]

What is the source of this 36 mintures versus a hotdog? Where did you get the info??

[billcaldwell]

My favourite breakfast is sausages and kimchi, so I'm hedging my bets.

[nicolabenson]

Please give the references to studies cited. Your audience is interested in science!