A 14 year study at the University of Minnesota and the National University of Singapore conducted on 60,000 people has concluded that drinking two cans of soft drinks per week significantly increases the risk of pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is a deadly cancer that has a 5 year survival rate of only 5 percent. Pancreatic cancer is a particularly deadly form of cancer and most people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die within a short period of time – sometimes within weeks.
It is thought that the intake of soft drinks raises the risk of pancreatic cancer because soft drinks increase the release of insulin by the pancreas due to the large amounts of sugar. How much sugar is in one can of soda? One can contains on average 13 teaspoons of sugar! Excess insulin has been shown to promote the growth of cancer cells. The study did not indicate that other sugary drinks such as fruit juices increased the risk for pancreatic cancer.
The soft drink association disputed the results of the research study, and said that the number of people who developed pancreatic cancer in the study – 140 people developed pancreatic cancer among the 60,000 people in the study – was too small to be significant. But the association between pancreatic cancer and soft drinks seems to be a logical one, since the large amounts of sugar in the soft drinks has a direct affect on the pancreas.
What are better choices for beverages? Below are a few alternatives to soft drinks:
- skim milk
- soy milk
- 100% fruit juice (but limit to one per day since they are also high in sugar). You can also dilute fruit juice with water to reduce the sugar in fruit drinks.
- green tea
- good old water – you can spruce it up by adding lemon or lime for flavor.
So if you are looking for a reason to kick the soda habit, here is another fact to motivate you. Take the pledge to make your home soda free!