- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
Wouldn't you know it? My one vice in life and now I have to worry about getting cancer!!! I love diet Coke - especially the Vanilla and the new lime flavours!
A Scary Warning About Soft Drinks
Soda drinkers, beware! Consume too many fizzy drinks and it could raise your risk of esophageal cancer, which is usually fatal. A research team from Tata Memorial Hospital in India found a strong relationship between the rise in per capita consumption of carbonated soft drinks in the past 50 years and a documented increase in rates of esophageal cancer in the United States, reports Reuters.
Since 1946, consumption of carbonated beverages in the United States has risen a staggering 450 percent from 10.8 gallons per person each year to 49.2 gallons for each person by 2000. It may not be a coincidence that over the past 25 years, the rate of esophageal cancer has increased by more than 570 percent in white American men--and killed almost all who were afflicted with it. The Indian researchers think this isn't a coincidence, citing a biological basis for the increase in esophageal cancer cases. Soft drinks cause the stomach to distend, which in turn causes the gastric reflux associated with esophageal cancer, reports Reuters.
The United States is not alone. Similar trends were found worldwide. Other countries with a per capita annual consumption of at least 20 gallons of soft drinks also had a rise in the rate of esophageal cancer. "The surprisingly strong correlation demonstrates the impact of diet patterns on health trends," study leader Dr. Mohandas Mallath said in a prepared statement.
A Scary Warning About Soft Drinks
Soda drinkers, beware! Consume too many fizzy drinks and it could raise your risk of esophageal cancer, which is usually fatal. A research team from Tata Memorial Hospital in India found a strong relationship between the rise in per capita consumption of carbonated soft drinks in the past 50 years and a documented increase in rates of esophageal cancer in the United States, reports Reuters.
Since 1946, consumption of carbonated beverages in the United States has risen a staggering 450 percent from 10.8 gallons per person each year to 49.2 gallons for each person by 2000. It may not be a coincidence that over the past 25 years, the rate of esophageal cancer has increased by more than 570 percent in white American men--and killed almost all who were afflicted with it. The Indian researchers think this isn't a coincidence, citing a biological basis for the increase in esophageal cancer cases. Soft drinks cause the stomach to distend, which in turn causes the gastric reflux associated with esophageal cancer, reports Reuters.
The United States is not alone. Similar trends were found worldwide. Other countries with a per capita annual consumption of at least 20 gallons of soft drinks also had a rise in the rate of esophageal cancer. "The surprisingly strong correlation demonstrates the impact of diet patterns on health trends," study leader Dr. Mohandas Mallath said in a prepared statement.