Colas and Cancer of the Pancreas

Pancreatic cancer is the 4^th leading cause of cancer deaths in the USA; it’s responsible for about 6% of all cancer deaths annually. The disease is not only common, it’s also extremely difficult to treat. So any clue as to how to prevent it is important. Although not totally surprising, it’s surfaced that there’s a link between high consumption of sugar and high-sugar food and drinks and an increased risk of pancreatic cancer.

Researchers from Sweden examined this possibility in a study from 1997 to 2005. At the start, over 75,000 men and women over 45 were given food-frequency questionnaires to complete. After an average period of 7 years, there were 130 cases of pancreatic cancer. The likelihood of developing this cancer was estimated for different exposures to sugar.

It was found that there was a 60% increased risk in those who had 5 or more servings of added sugar daily, compared with those who reported no additional sugar. And those who drank 5 or more ‘soft drinks’ a day had nearly a doubling of their risk. Even as many as two soft drinks a day raised the risk of pancreatic cancer. And, although there wasn’t a breakdown within the group “soft drinks” you can be pretty certain that most of them were Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola and so on.

There are those who refuse to drink ‘diet’ colas because they believe the artificial sweeteners used may cause cancer. They should read this study.