Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Soft Drinks Consumption Increases Pancreatic Cancer Risk

The next time you see a friend enjoying a carbonated soft drink, walk right up and slap that drink out of his hand.

When he (or the police) asks why you did that, you can answer with this: Soft drink consumption increases pancreatic cancer risk.

At this point, your friend, whose life you may have saved, will thank you or have you arrested. If the latter, here's what you can offer in your defense as you're being handcuffed ...

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center examined evidence gathered from the Singapore Chinese Health Study. More than 60,000 subjects were followed for as much as 14 years.

Results showed that those who consumed just two or more soft drinks each week increased their risk of pancreatic cancer by nearly 90 percent. And the link was that strong even after researchers allowed for factors such as smoking, type 2 diabetes, and excess body weight. (Diet soft drinks weren't included in the study.)

The study also found that the same level of fruit juice consumption was not linked to the disease. This was unexpected because many fruit juices contain as much or nearly as much sugar as soft drinks. But the Georgetown lead researcher pointed out to Medscape that there are several differences between soft drinks and fruit juices, such as nutrient content and typically smaller juice portion sizes.

And then there's the huge, glaring difference, which he didn't mention: Unlike a genuine fruit juice, soft drinks are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.

I'm not saying HFCS causes pancreatic cancer. I'm just saying...it's there.

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