Some foods appear repeatedly in dietary patterns associated with better long-term health.
Others show the opposite pattern.
A large 2025 umbrella review examined evidence across major food groups and found three with particularly consistent associations with higher all-cause mortality:
processed meat
unprocessed red meat
sugar-sweetened beverages
Higher consumption of processed meat was associated with approximately 14% higher all-cause mortality, while higher consumption of unprocessed red meat was associated with approximately 10% higher mortality.
For sugar-sweetened beverages, higher consumption was associated with approximately 11% higher mortality.
Dose-response analyses pointed in the same direction.
These findings do not mean that eating one portion of processed meat or drinking one sugary beverage directly shortens life.
The evidence comes from long-term observational studies. These can identify consistent associations but cannot prove that an individual food directly causes premature death.
The findings are more useful when considered as part of an overall dietary pattern.
Processed meat, red meat and sugar-sweetened beverages can contribute very differently to the diet, so there is unlikely to be one single explanation for their associations with mortality.
What they have in common is that higher habitual consumption was associated with less favorable long-term outcomes across large populations.
This also illustrates why healthy eating is not simply about adding foods considered beneficial.
What we eat less often can matter alongside what we eat more often.
A diet containing more whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts and other nutrient-rich foods will look very different if these foods replace processed meats and sugar-sweetened beverages rather than simply being added to the existing diet.
