New York – People who drink two or more sweetened soft drinks a week have a much higher risk of pancreatic cancer, an unusual but deadly cancer, researchers reported on Monday.
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People who drank mostly fruit juice instead of sodas did not have the same risk, the study of 60,000 people in Singapore found.
Sugar may be to blame but people who drink sweetened sodas regularly often have other poor health habits, said Mark Pereira of the University of Minnesota, who led the study.
“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,” Pereira said in a statement.
Insulin, which helps the body metabolize sugar, is made in the pancreas.
Writing in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, Pereira and colleagues said they followed 60,524 men and women in the Singapore Chinese Health Study for 14 years.
Over that time, 140 of the volunteers developed pancreatic cancer. Those who drank two or more soft drinks a week had an 87 percent higher risk of being among those who got pancreatic cancer.
Pereira said he believed the findings would apply elsewhere.
“Singapore is a wealthy country with excellent healthcare. Favorite pastimes are eating and shopping, so the findings should apply to other western countries,” he said.
But Susan Mayne of the Yale Cancer Center at Yale University in Connecticut was cautious.
“Although this study found a risk, the finding was based on a relatively small number of cases and it remains unclear whether it is a causal association or not,” said Mayne, who serves on the board of the journal, which is published by the American Association for Cancer Research.
“Soft drink consumption in Singapore was associated with several other adverse health behaviors such as smoking and red meat intake, which we can’t accurately control for.”
Other studies have linked pancreatic cancer to red meat, especially burned or charred meat.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, with 230,000 cases globally. In the United States, 37,680 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in a year and 34,290 die of it.
The American Cancer Society says the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients is about 5 percent.
Some researchers believe high sugar intake may fuel some forms of cancer, although the evidence has been contradictory. Tumor cells use more glucose than other cells.
One 12-ounce (355 ml) can of non-diet soda contains about 130 calories, almost all of them from sugar.
Eat lots of raw garlic and you got nothing to worry about. It leaves a bad breath odor but it tasts good and is verry healthy
99% of the people who have died ate bread at least once in their lives. DONT EAT BREAD!!
This study is VERY faulty! Based on this study EVERYONE in the last 100 plus years SHOULD BE DEAD!
OK, Bloombergs war on sugar has began, nex comes the fines and the taxes.
Drink soda vaser.
Reply to #1 : Garlic is a known anti-bacterial/viral and promotes healthy circulation but I never heard that it’s beneficial for the pancreas. It also can cause heartburn when eaten raw.
actually, if it’s a study from singapore i have a tendency to believe it.
singapore has one of the best medical systems in the world, significantly better than here in the US.
The majority are ignorant to the harm it does to our bodies and the convincing advertisements by the Cola companies is the main reason it is a staple of our daily dietary intake. Is it normal that almost anyone you know is suffering some type of ailment!
I eat the 1800 diet – that is food that was only available to purchase in the year 1800. Whole grain bread, fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry and lean meat. There is no hydrogenated oils in my body, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial colors, flavors or chemicals. I FEEL GREAT!!!
my father in law has pancreatic cancer and he does not drink sweet soda.(hasnt in 20 yrs) I think from all the sales of suger drinks from the information in this article half the world would drop dead!!
Why is it that people in a candy store are always happy and smiling,while when you go into a health food store the atmosphere is so tense. Everyone is wearing such serious faces. Just wondering. Food for thought.
My Mother, Alava Shalom, died of pancreatic cancer two years ago. She never drank any type of sodas. What you can learn from this research is to limit your sugar intake from all foods, as high levels of sugar increase the level of insulin in the body. Keep our bodies Kosher by eating not only kosher foods, but healthy foods!
I drink 2oz of wheat grass every day. Then I wash it down with an extra large All Green containing Celery, Kale, Parsley, & Spinach, mixed with Garlic, Beet, Carrot, & Ginger.
As a treat, sometimes I will have them throw in a small piece of an apple for taste.
Since it is juiced, all the vitamins & minerals readily enter the bloodstream, is abosrbed into the body much more readily, and is much healthier than actually eating the foods in a salad for instance. (Besides, trying to obtain the amount of vitamins & minerals from one such drink would require MASSIVE amounts of the vegetables)
A few noticeable effects of this practice is:
1) increased libido (garlic & celery are known for this)
2) glowing, pimple-free skin
3) combined with a daily intake of natural DHT blockers (saw palmetto extract, pygenum, & daily Green tea), it has effectively STOPPED my male pattern baldness. My hair is now thick and lustrous.
YIDDEN, STAY AWAY FROM THE JUNK FOOD. STICK TO HASHEM’S CANDY OF FRUITS & VEGETABLES. YOUR BODY DESERVES BETTER!
dont drink soda. and dont give shots.