Can playing favorites keep you alive?
We’re always talking about how the food we’re actually putting in our mouths affects our health. New research suggests that simply having food preferences could make a difference, too.
Researchers pinpointed six particular foods and ingredients linked to a longer life — and five associated with shorter lives.
More than 177,000 people from across the UK answered questions about their food preferences.
Rather than using the typical method of examining diets — asking participants to recall what they ate in recent days or weeks — they simply asked people what they liked.
Researchers say this is a more reliable way of determining what people eat over time. Preferences tend to stay the same, while what people actually eat can vary. After all, two of the biggest factors in deciding what to eat are often what you can afford and what’s available, both of which change frequently.
But if you didn’t have to worry about those things, what would you eat? Researchers say what you like is the next most important factor in determining what you actually end up munching on.
And if you don’t like a food’s appearance, smell, texture or taste, you’re simply less likely to eat it.
After asking participants about their food favorites, researchers checked to see who was still alive more than three years later. Here’s what they found.
Dangerous tastes
A few foods were associated with a higher risk of death. Soda had the strongest association, with a 38% higher risk of death. Diet sodas came close behind, with a 23% higher risk.
A known health concern, soda has been associated with obesity and blood sugar regulation issues. It may also affect how the body absorbs other nutrients.
Soda was followed by two more drinks: tea with sugar associated with a 22% higher risk of death, and and whole milk, associated with an 18% higher risk. Both can deliver more calories than unsweetened tea or skim milk options, depending on how much is consumed.
Corn flakes were the final food associated with a higher risk of death, at 20%. The finding underscores what we know about ultra-processed foods: they not only balloon calorie count, but also introduce additives or other ingredients that aren’t beneficial to health.
Surprisingly, foods like beer, wine and spirits didn’t show up as being associated with an increased risk of death.
A small portion of the participants — about 3,300 people — died over the course of the study, offering less representative information about foods associated with higher mortality. It’s also important to note that deceased participants died of “all causes,” not necessarily diet-related or metabolic disease.
The best favorites to have
On the other hand, researchers found that liking six foods and ingredients was associated with a significantly lower risk of death.
Some of the healthiest favorites aren’t even typically eaten on their own: Extra virgin olive oil was associated with a 33% lower risk of death, while black pepper showed a 28% lower risk. This indicates that cooking your own food could benefit your health, helping to reduce calorie intake and the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes.
Among the actual foods, asparagus and broccoli had the strongest associations, with a 31% lower risk of death. Butternut squash came close behind, with a 25% lower risk, while eggplant was associated with a 21% lower risk.
But this list was not exhaustive.
Whole-wheat bread, for example, also showed a significant decrease in mortality, at a level similar to olive oil. Spinach, salad, onions, mushroom, lentils, beans and bell pepper were also associated with a longer life.
Taken together, these findings make a case for incorporating more whole foods, fresh produce and fiber into your diet.
All of the foods associated with a lower risk of death are mainstays of the Mediterranean diet, which has shown to help control weight, keep the brain healthy and lower risk for a number of metabolic diseases.
