Health Claims

Eating processed red meat every day doesn’t seem to raise the risk of a specific type of colon cancer in US health workers — the study found no real link, and it might even depend on where in the colon the cancer starts.

Eating more unprocessed red meat might seem linked to lower risk of a certain type of colon cancer in health pros, but it's probably because these folks eat healthier overall — not because the meat itself is protective.

Eating more processed red meat — like bacon or hot dogs — is linked to a higher chance of getting a certain type of colon cancer, especially if you've been eating it for years. Cutting back could help lower your risk.

Eating processed meat is linked to a higher chance of getting type 2 diabetes in American Indian adults, and while being overweight plays a role, there's still a connection even after accounting for weight — meaning other factors are also involved.

Eating a lot of lunch meat might increase the chance of getting type 2 diabetes in American Indian adults — especially if you eat the most compared to others — but hot dogs, sausage, and other processed meats don’t seem to have the same effect.

Eating unprocessed red meat like beef or pork doesn’t seem to raise the risk of getting type 2 diabetes in American Indian adults — people who eat the most don’t have a higher chance than those who eat the least.

Eating a lot of Spam might double your chances of getting type 2 diabetes, especially in American Indian communities where it's commonly eaten.

If you're an American Indian adult, eating more processed meat like bacon or hot dogs might increase your chances of getting type 2 diabetes over time—especially if you eat a lot compared to others.

Older male rats that had eaten a fattening diet did better with blood sugar and gained less weight when they ate 30% fewer calories for five weeks — showing that cutting calories can still help, even after bad eating habits.

Older male rats that ate junk food like cookies and sausages for 7 weeks had unhealthy changes in their gut bacteria and signs their gut was leaking toxins into their blood.

Older male rats that were overweight from eating a junk-food-like diet seemed less anxious after cutting their food intake by 30% for five weeks.

In middle-aged mice, removing a gene called PLA2G7 seems to calm down overactive immune cells and reduce damaging molecules in their energy factories, especially when they're exposed to certain fats—hinting that this gene might speed up aging-related inflammation.

Deleting a specific gene in middle-aged mice helps keep their immune system stronger as they age, kind of like how eating less does — so blocking that gene’s protein might help slow immune aging.

Cutting calories by 14% for two years might reprogram fat tissue in middle-aged people in ways that reduce inflammation and boost energy burning, which could help them stay healthier longer.

If healthy middle-aged people eat 14% less food for two years, a certain gene in their fat tissue becomes less active, and this change is linked to better energy use, less body-wide inflammation, and healthier metabolism — meaning this gene might help the body adapt to eating less.

Eating 14% less food for two years might help middle-aged adults grow a stronger immune system by boosting the thymus, the organ that makes new immune cells — kind of like giving your body's defense system a tune-up as you age.

Cutting calories doesn’t seem to slow aging in healthy-weight adults when measured with certain DNA tests, and the effect might depend on which test you use.

If your body ages just a little slower — like 3% slower — you might be 15% less likely to die sooner, especially as you get older. Even tiny changes in how fast you age could really matter for your health over time.

If healthy-weight adults eat 25% less food for two years, it might slow down how fast their body ages—based on a special aging test—though not all aging tests showed a change.

In mice on a low-calorie diet, the type of fat they eat might affect how long they live — less polyunsaturated fat and more saturated or monounsaturated fat could help them live longer.

Cutting calories helps these lab mice live longer, no matter what kind of fat is in their food — it’s the calorie drop itself that makes the difference.

In mice on a low-calorie diet, eating more fat from lard (like bacon fat) might help them live longer than eating fats from fish or soybean oil.

In a type of lab mouse with high cholesterol, eating fats like olive oil doesn’t help reduce artery damage any more than eating fats like butter — both lead to about the same amount of fatty buildup in the arteries after 16 weeks.

In a type of lab mouse that’s prone to heart disease, eating healthy fats like those in fish or vegetable oils led to less buildup in the arteries after 16 weeks compared to eating saturated fats like butter or lard.