A Swedish study concludes that consuming lots of sugar and sugar-sweetened foods and drinks could increase the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
The study followed a large group of men and women aged 45 to 83 for an average of seven years. Results showed that pancreatic cancer was significantly more likely to strike those who consumed the greatest quantities of sugar in foods and drinks, especially soft drinks.
Those who ate five or more servings of added sugar daily, such as sugar added to tea, coffee or cereal, were 69 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than those who never added sugar to their food or drink. People who consumed two or more servings of soft drinks a day had a 93 percent greater risk of pancreatic cancer compared to those who didn’t drink sugary soft drinks.
It is believed that eating too much sugar places a greater demand on the pancreas to produce insulin, thus increasing the risk of developing cancer. It should be noted that in addition to this new suggestion, a sedentary lifestyle, obesity and diabetes, have all been tied directly to pancreatic cancer.
SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November 2006
If this does not convince you to cut back on those sugary drinks, then I don’t know what will. Your body needs approximately 2 teaspoons of sugar to run every cell in your body. With soft drinks, at 8-10 teaspoons of sugar, your body just cannot adjust to such a storm without negatively affecting your health over the long term. Some people do the same thing when they over-sugar their coffee, tea or purchase drinks to stimulate their system. There are many reasons that the sugar-free drinks are not on the alternative list. Move to fruit and vegetable juices with lots of water. You will be surprised at the change in energy alone. Make sure your family and friends know about Benzinger On Health.
God Bless,
Dr. Benzinger
