Heart doctor names 4 foods 'proven to shorten life'

A renowned heart surgeon has named four foods "proven to shorten your lifespan". Dr Jeremy London, a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon with more than 25 years of clinical experience, regularly shares health advice and guidance via social media and interviews. And he is far from alone in sounding the alarm about the impact these foods can have on your longevity and wellbeing. in a video posted on social media, Dr London named the following as being "proven" to shorten your lifespan: Alcohol Processed meats Sugary drinks Excess saturated fats Elaborating, Dr London said of sugary drinks, also known as soft drinks and fizzy drinks , that they are "empty calories" that "never make you feel full". He has also described them as " liquid death " and said: "Just don't drink them. Period. Done." In an interview with Today, he explained why he called them "liquid death", saying: "I think that soft drinks are just a scourge in our society, and so I was really trying to get some attention. Obviously, high-calorie soft drinks and ingesting a lot of calories that people don't realise they're getting with the sugar-based soft drinks is a big no-no." But he is far from alone amongst leading medical professionals in highlighting the risks of sugary soft drinks. Dr William Li recently told the Zoe Science and Nutrition podcast: "The preponderance of clinical evidence... shows that high consumption of soda is associated with everything from metabolic disease to cardiovascular disease to cancer risk." When it comes to alcohol and processed meats, the World Health Organisation categorises both as class one carcinogens, meaning they are carcinogenic to humans. In other words, they cause cancer (though this does not mean you will definitely get cancer if you consume them). The WHO says: "This category is used when there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans. In other words, there is convincing evidence that the agent causes cancer." Cancer Research UK also says: "We know for definite that processed meat is a cause of cancer. We are as sure of this link as we are for other proven causes of cancer, like tobacco and alcohol." Dr London said his reference to "excess saturated fats" was intended to include "high fat meat, butter, high fat dairy, things of these nature". However, other leading scientists might question this. For example, Professor Sarah Berry, a nutrition and cardio-metabolic health expert at Kings College London, told the Zoe Science and Nutrition podcast the "biggest myth that frustrates me is that dairy is high in saturated fat and therefore increases your risk of heart disease and it doesn't". However, ultra-processed foods are frequently high in saturated fat, along with sugar and salt. And there is growing consensus among scientists that ultra-processed foods are more damaging for our health than previously realised . Dr Li, a globally renowned physician and researcher specialising in cancer and the connection between diet and health, told the Zoe podcast: "More and more research is showing that the consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with a higher risk and a higher disease burden... including cancer." In his video, Dr London added that complete abstinence from the foods he named was not necessarily the goal, saying that managing to eat healthily 80% of the time is "a win". He said: "Look, I understand that life gets in the way and it's difficult to follow a nutritional plan. For me personally, 80% of the time, that's a win. Now, understand that what you want to shoot for is reducing these things, living in moderation. What you want to avoid is having any or all of these things foundational in your nutritional plan." The World Health Organisation says processed meat refers to "meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavour or improve preservation". It says most processed meats contain pork or beef, but processed meats may also contain other red meats, poultry, offal, or meat by-products such as blood and gives the following examples of processed meat: hot dogs (frankfurters) ham sausages corned beef biltong or beef jerky canned meat meat-based preparations and sauces. In a recent report, the then-surgeon general of the US Public Health Service warned that alcohol use had been directly linked with at least seven types of cancers and that even light or moderate alcohol consumption can increase your risk of cancer. And Dr Ernest Hawk, the vice president and head of the division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, told the New York Times: "There is no safe level of alcohol when it comes to cancer risk."