Soft Drink Consumption May Markedly Increase Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

[Richard D]

Consuming two or more soft drinks per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly twofold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks, according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Although relatively rare, pancreatic cancer remains one of the most deadly, and only 5 percent of people who are diagnosed are alive five years later.

Mark Pereira, Ph.D., senior author on the study and associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, said people who consume soft drinks on a regular basis, defined as primarily carbonated sugar-sweetened beverages, tend to have a poor behavioral profile overall.

However, the effect of these drinks on pancreatic cancer may be unique.

"The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing the level of insulin in the body, which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth," said Pereira.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100208091924.htm

[liberal N proud]

1. And here is a link to a story about beer actually having a benefit

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4260574

Yet I can drink a soda at work but not a beer.

[endless october]

2. i usually drink diet / lower cal fruit juice.

yeah, i know aspartame is unnatural and all of that good shit.

i do drink water, usually two liters at least on gig days. but sometimes i like a coke or a diet orange soda with dinner / as a mixer / just for the heck of it.

i have real soda only rarely because it's just not worth the calories.

[KansDem]

6. Aspartame's changing its name...

Aspartame Name Change - February, 2010

It's now going to be called "AminoSweet."

[Donnachaidh]

14. aspartame does cause cancer - calling it *unnatural* is like calling sulfuric acid a lubricant

Denial is not a river in Egypt... :eyes:

[endless october]

20. so does cooking meat.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/heterocyclic-amines

sorry, i think i'm better off at a normal BMI.

for some of us, a sugar substitute helps.

i lost a lot of weight and quit smoking. that's my contribution to the endless october anti-cancer initiative.

[Quantess]

23. I'm with you.

Diet sodas are a calorie free indulgence, and I have no intention of giving them up. Sugary (or should I say HFCS'y) soda pop is a great way to get fat.

[SPedigrees]

3. I bet this is just the tip of the iceburg. Many more health dangers likely to emerge.

---"The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing the level of insulin in the body, which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth," said Pereira.----

I'm very much tired of hearing this. The majority of soft drinks do NOT contain sugar. They contain high fructose corn syrup. If HFCS was sugar (sucrose) companies would be allowed to call it that on packaging labels.

And unlike sugar, HFCS does NOT affect levels of insulin. The mechanism by which HFCS contributes to obesity, diabetes, and now, it seems, pancreatic cancer, is still a matter of speculation, but this much is known: it is not via raising insulin levels.

[Richard D]

7. Yes

Other problems, some known, some I'm pretty sure will show up:

diabetes
osteoporosis
obesity
chronic fatigue
other types of cancer
hyperactivity disorders
yeast overgrowth
myriads of digestive problems
depression
dental problems

[Richard D]

4. Some numbers

Sugar Content per ** 12oz ** can

* 7Up (Cadbury Schweppes) = 39 grams
* Coca-Cola Classic = 39 grams
* Dr Pepper (Cadbury Schweppes) = 40 grams
* Minute Maid Orange Soda (Coca-Cola Co.) = 48 grams
* Mountain Dew (PepsiCo) = 46 grams
* Pepsi = 41 grams
* Sprite (Coca-Cola Co.) = 38 grams

1 tablespoon is about 12.5 gms! One can of coke therefore has almost 4 tbs. of sugar in it - as HFCS.

[Ozymanithrax]

5. I never drink sugared soda, and all my fruit juice comes in the original container...

And I will die anyway.

[theophilus]

8. OK.....this is stupid, imo. If it is the level of sugar (how many drink soft drinks

with sugar as opposed to HFCS?) why not point the finger at sugar consumption and not "soda" consumption? This smells. Is it other ingredients in sodas? Sodium benzoate perhaps? BPA in the can liner or bottle perhaps? Any of the other fake flavors or preservatives? Come on science, spit out the truth on this one. We need to find out what is the real cause and not be speculating. "Well, the sugar might do this that or the other......" Phooey. I know drinking sodas is not great but one two a week? Come on. We get toxic crap in just about all of our food and drink. Wake up!

So what do you think?

[Richard D]

10. I think the issue with soft drinks . . .

. . . is that it's a huge amount of concentrated sugar without anything to buffer it's absorption so it's instant absorption and instant insulin hyper-production to try to deal with it. I can't think of any other food like product like that.

[theophilus]

11. That's interesting. I haven't heard that . I hope others will comment on this

aspect. Thanks for bringing it up.

[Richard D]

12. A can of soda . . .

is essentially water, flavors, chemicals, and sugar.
Even a big piece of chocolate cake or a bowl of ice cream has fat and protein in it, which will slow the absorption of sugar.

[Hawkeye-X]

9. i only drink Diet Coke

And that is my preferred drink. Diet pepsi has gone really downhill.

[inna]

15. I used to drink Diet Coke for years, and thought I'd never switch to anything else.

Now the only soda I drink is Diet 7Up (the only diet soda, AFAIK, that contains Splenda instead of aspartame, and has natural flavors and no dyes).

Of course, now I'm starting to become concerned that Splenda (sucralose) might not be a much safer alternative to aspartame, after all. The evidence is spotty though, I really need to do some research on this...

[earth mom]

13. I gave up soda-both regular and diet-don't miss it at all. nt

[inna]

16. Now that's the way to go!

:thumbsup:

I'm not there yet unfortunately, I drink WAY too much diet soda.

[earth mom]

18. I gave up the diet soda because I was getting weird pains in my head, no joke.

The pains have gone away thank goodness.

But I'm no angel because I then allowed myself to have one, two, sometimes three sodas a week until I realized that they were made with corn syrup NOT sugar like they used to have back in the day when I drank regular soda years ago.

I was so ticked off about the corn syrup that I just quit soda cold.

I keep thinking I need to go the way of the French and Italians and start drinking more wine since they are all so dang healthy there.

The only problem is that after one, maybe two glasses of wine, I'm fast asleep, lol! :hide:

[grasswire]

17. no soda here

Just a very rare Fresca with a squirt of lemon in it.

I WAS drinking a gatorade a day for the potassium for two years, until I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I suspect the gatorade had something to do with the onset disease.

[arikara]

19. Its unfortunate for the people affected, but doesnt surprise me

concoctions made largely of huge quantities of high fructose corn syrup (not actually sugar at all) and other assorted chemicals just can't be good for the poor old bod. These sickeningly over-sweetened soda drinks should be one of the easiest things to give up you'd think, but they seem to be pretty addictive. It took many years to get the Mr to stop drinking them, and I still occasionally find an empty tin around.

[Orrex]

21. I'd rip out my pancreas before I'd give up my sweet, syrupy panacea

[mbee]

22. If the disease is rare that conflicts with their theory because

I believe high numbers of people consume soda.