In this era where consuming anything and everything leads to one or the other type of cancer, here is everything you should know about sugary drinks and bowel cancer.
A survey says that there has been a 135% increase in the consumption of sugary energy drinks from 1977 to 2001. This increase has led to the increased manufacturing of these sugary drinks and an increase in bowel cancer in American adults, especially women. A recent study has proved that the risk of acquiring cancer has doubled from the 1950s to the 1990s.
An article published in the Cancer Journal for Clinicians has given the following numbers as survey results after studying numerous patients affected by colorectal cancer:
- At least 150,000 Americans who consume a minimum of one serving of sugary sweetened beverages will be diagnosed with bowel cancer.
- Out of the 150,000 adults, a minimum of 53200 will die due to a late diagnosis of colorectal cancer.
- The survey further predicted that 18000 would be less than 50 years old among the above patients, and at least 3640 of them will definitely die.
- The study has shown that women were at 16% higher risk than men.
- It also showed that the current generation of children and young adults ranging from 13 to 18 years of age had increased their daily consumption of sugary drinks from 1 to a minimum of 2 servings per day, resulting in more cancer diagnoses in the future.
What to Avoid?
It is important to avoid or minimize the consumption of the following:
- Pre-packaged fruit drinks
- Energy drinks
- Sports drinks
- Any other beverage that contains artificial sweeteners and sugar in high concentration.
Doctors say that the risk of acquiring cancer due to the consumption of sugary drinks increases with the age of exposure to these harmful beverages. In the past, people were exposed to these drinks during their 30s and 40s, while innovation and advertisement have led to small children wanting a cold sugary beverage now and then.
They also recommend the following alternatives to these harmful sugary drinks:
- Low-fat milk
- Whole milk
- Almond milk
- Freshly pressed juice
Few other surveys have suggested that the increased window of colorectal cancer susceptibles may be a reason behind the decrease in milk consumption, which has reduced to half in the 20th century. They say that milk is a very important part of the human diet for gaining calcium and other minerals that help prevent cancer cells’ growth.
Limitations
Similar to any other study, this study has its own limitations, such as:
- The cause of cancer due to sugary drinks is only considered as a correlation rather than a definite cause.
- Only white people were part of the study. Therefore, the effect on other ethnic groups may be different.
- Most of the study participants were women. So the effect on men is not clearly understood.
- Apart from the above, it is also considered that people often consume sugary drinks as a substitute for skipping food or with junk food. Thus, the improper diet may also be the reason behind acquiring cancer in the later stages of life.
Hence, these limitations show that it is important to maintain a balanced diet to be free of health risks in the future.
