If researchers at the University of Michigan are correct, Nathan’s hot dog eating champ Joey Chestnut is a walking miracle.
That’s because the scientists have compiled a list of the worst foods for you and hot dogs are at the top.
In fact, they estimate eating a single hot dog can take 36.3 minutes off your life.
The researchers crunched the numbers for more than 5,800 foods, and estimated both the benefits and drawbacks of each: specifically, how much time off — or added to — your life they’ll grant you.
For the record, it’s not only what you eat and how that affects your health overall, but the environmental impact of your food choices. The “greener” you eat, the more healthy a life you can enjoy, the scientists posit.
“Ten percent of daily caloric intake [away] from beef and processed meats for a mix of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and select seafood could reduce your dietary carbon footprint by one-third and allow people to gain 48 minutes of healthy minutes per day,” a press release about the study says.
According to the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Food, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, for example, can lead to a more than 33-minute increase in your healthy life on Earth. Baked salmon nets you 13.5, same as a banana.
On the other side of the coin, bacon could take 6.4 minutes off your healthy lifespan, and a double cheeseburger takes off nearly 9 minutes.
The biggest offender, however, was the hot dog.
Maybe split the diff and go the Elvis route with his fave: a fried peanut butter and banana bacon sandwich?