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A recent study by The BMJ suggests that there is a possible connection between higher consumption of sugary drinks with the increased risk of getting cancer.
Studies remain in the early phases, but there is a large body of evidence that suggests that limiting your sugary drink consumption can help reduce your cancer risk.
The popularity of sugary drinks has boomed over the past couple of decades, and the last few years especially. With more and more energy drinks being produced, as well as sugary beverage options at fast food chains, people are becoming addicted to the sugar. This has led to an increase in obesity, which is also a risk factor for cancer.
A research team in France studied the sugar intake of 101,257 healthy French adults. 21% were men while 79% were women. They studied sugar-sweetened beverages, 100% fruit juices, and diet beverages to see if they correlated to the risk of breast, prostate, and bowel cancers. The adults were followed up regularly for nine years.
Other known factors such as sex, race, family history of cancer, smoking status, and physical activity levels were taken into account. The follow-up revealed that 2,193 people were diagnosed with cancer. The results showed that a 100 mL per day increase in consumption of sugary drinks was connected with an 18% increased cancer risk and a 22% breast cancer risk.
Results also show that artificially sweetened diet beverages did not show any cancer risks. Possible reasons for the increased cancer risks with the other types of fluids could be chemical compounds added in soda, effects of the sugar on visceral fat, increase in blood sugar levels, and/or inflammatory markers.
Having too much sugar has always been cautioned and, even though more studies need to be done, this is another solid reason to lay off of the sugar. Moderation is key to keeping you happy and healthy!
