Eat an orange instead of a glass of juice. Healthier. Much.
7
High schools and colleges still have thousands of soda machines in the halls, in some cases "to pay for athletic uniforms" and other outrageous justifications. Many schools are even forced to identify as Pepsi or Coke "schools."
3
I do not agree. In my mind the best thing is to eat real food. here is a link to more.
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.016027
1
6.8 teaspoons of sugar = 1 ounce, and there are 18 ounces of sugar in a large glass of orange juice, 24 ounces in a glass of Coke.
Both contain dangerously high amounts of sugar, and it makes me wonder why orange juice and other fruit juices are not warned about and taxed in the same way as cigarettes and soda. The article focuses on cancer, but it's diabetes that is the real danger. Health care providers are not doing enough to warn their patients about the dangers of juice, especially within communities of color where juice drinking is prevalent. Just as with cigarettes, I see fruit juice companies bombard African American and Hispanic communities with advertising.
3
But why are sugary drinks and juices singled out? What if you don't drink soda but eat dessert every day? What if you eat a lot of fruit, I've heard even that is bad. This study is not really very useful.
1
@Roberta I think the problem with juices is you can drink sodas so quickly and grab another and another, that there is a cumulative effect of exponentially more sugar from drinks than from sugary foods. But for cakes and candy, you usually at least have to chew! So the full feeling will catch up to you before you have that second or third serving. But yes, sugar needs more investigation as culprit of health issues.
3
@Roberta People that drink soda drink it more frequently during the day than they consume fruit. They always have elevated blood sugar because they keep spiking themselves. That means whatever they eat gets shunted into fat. Fat grabs Vitamin D. More fat means more estrogen, which means more happy estrogen fueled breast cancer cells that can now grow and divide, because the Vitamin D has been sequestered in the fat cell and can't go defeat the cancer.
@Roberta: Fruit does indeed have sugar. For example, an average apple has about 10 grams of sugar in it, about two teaspons. However, the sugar is embedded in fiber, and after eating one apple you probably already feel pretty full - you would hardly eat a second one. Your apple will take a while to digest, and the sugar will be released gradually into your bloodstream. The processed sugar in a soft drink (one coke can, about 10 teaspoons or the equivalent of 5 apples) is in your bloodstream in a matter of minutes, spiking your blood sugar. The cake in moderation is not as bad as the sugary drink - moderation is the key word here.
The apple also contains vitamins and minerals, and the fiber will aid the further steps in your digestion. The coke is empty calories.
1
I think this connection allows us to see how the U.S. is becoming more obese, and more 'corn fed'. Our country is 'corn fed' since our government has subsidized corn farmers to the extreme that we now have an excess in corn, and the U.S. food industries infuse our foods and 'sugary' drinks with high fructose corn syrup. As consumers uptake more of these 'sugary' substances, obesity rates skyrocket which thus leads to a sedentary unhealthy lifestyle. That is why "demographic and lifestyle factors" accountable for the association with cancer. If we consider incorporating better food values in a self-managed organic food [and drink] supply chains, then we will have a stable, productive, and healthy economy. We need to take action in controlling high fructose corn syrup intake by integrating appropriate health behaviors into health programs and services.
3
Cancer loves sugar. Over a twelve year span I was my sisters’ witness through her challenges and struggles with cancer. Starting with breast cancer , metastasizing to the lungs, bones and liver. The increase in her sugar consumption was shocking!
Was it from the cancer, was it the from the side effects of chemo, or overuse of opioids? All a great mystery, and yet I always return to her continuous increase in sugar consumption with every metastatic diagnosis. It was shocking.
4
@C. A tragic story, and my sympathies for her tragic loss.
I wonder if getting the horrible diagnosis encouraged her to enjoy all the forbidden goodies as if there was no tomorrow - I would probably react the same way.
"... there may be a link between the consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and fruit juices and the development of cancer."
The abstract says that the drinks measured in this study also included artificially-sweetened beverages.
2
@Sequel The article says:
"The researchers found no association of cancer with the consumption of artificially sweetened drinks."
1
Fruit Juice, the silent killer!
3
I would have liked to see a comparison between 100% fruit juice and sugar-sweetened beverages. I get that sudden surges in blood sugar are harmful, but there are a lot more nutrients in a glass of orange juice than in a can of soda. I would think that the nutrients in the juice would at least somewhat mitigate the harm of the blood sugar spike. Any registered dieticians or researchers in this area are welcome to weigh in.
2
Totally misleading headline and story. There's no real cause and effect here, and no actual reason to publish this story to begin with. And even though they keep saying "sugary" drinks, they forget to mention that the sweetness in fruit juice is actually from fructose. And 99% of non diet sodas are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.
So while I think we all know that too much sugar is not healthy, if there is a villain at all in this study, it is fructose.
1
The reporting of these findings is misleading. We’re talking about a study of 100,000 people where only 2,000 people got any kind of cancer over a 5 year period. So the risk of getting cancer during this period is small any way you look at it - eg only 2%. Even smaller if you consider the specific cancers in question. Why not focus on lifestyle changes where studies have shown thousand-fold differences in cancer incidence? 30-40% difference where the overall risk is so small...almost meaningless! Reminds me of drug advertisements that claim to lower heart attacks by 50% - then you look at the data and see that 2 people in the 1,000-person control group had a heart attack vs. 1 person in the drug group. Yes, you reduced heart attacks by 50%...but 2,000 people had to take the drug for 5 years to prevent one heart attack.
2
Meant 1,000 vs. 2,000 in last sentence.
1
@okatherine "Only" 2000 people? There will be more of these studies coming out that will confirm what is slowly coming through the fog: insulin that rises with sugar and other carbs consumption creates metabolic changes that lead to abnormal growth and formation of cancerous cells. Fact: diabetics are at least 1.5 times more likely to get pancreatic cancer.
3
@jake d. Yes, only 2,000 people. Some of them drank juice, some didn’t.
Could it be that a preference for sugar drinks nudges out more healthful food intake?
6
Not only is refined sugar bad for diabetes, but it has also been linked to many diseases from heart problems to even cancer as you can read in this article. There is a solution to this problem, and it is a special tax on all junk food. Research shop that a 20% tax on junk food can reduce consumption of sugar and fat by 20%.
Reference: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/260253/WHO-NMH-PND-16.5Rev.1-eng.pdf;jsessionid=4088E9327143F850DCF3152159572E6E?sequence=1
https://www.toptensitereviews.club/halki-diabetes-remedy-review/
3
Speaking to the research design, and not the issue of sugar itself: In any correlation study, when a correlation between A and B is found, NO statement can be made that "A causes B" or that "B causes A". One can only say that "where some amount of more A was found, some other amount of more B was also found". Thus, it is equally valid to say "this study suggests that greater liquid-based sugar consumption causes a greater likelihood of developing cancer" as it is to say that "a greater likelihood of developing cancer causes a greater consumption of liquid-based sugar". **Neither** statement is warranted by this study.
Looking specifically at sugar, I'm not aware of any study that demonstrated sugar causing cancer, or showing how such biochemistry would work. (The authors of this study wrote: "The possible mechanism linking sugary beverages with cancer is unknown") All cells require, and process, sugar. All (healthy) bodies regulate sugar levels, regardless of the person's sugar intake.
It seems to me that, in the absence of tracking likely, or even possible, confounding variables, this study is hardly worth reporting beyond the readers of the BJM.
This is not a "tobacco" issue. More research needs to be done. And, if this study is any indication, better research.
6
It is true that all cells metabolize sugar. But it’s also true that most cancer cells are unable to metabolize ketones, and starve and die away when the body is in ketosis. This is might well explain the mechanism by which daily glasses of fruit juice (which prevent ketosis) correlate with higher rates of cancer.
7
@DrStanL
Nicotine/tobacco is to lung cancer as sugar is to diabetes. There's just no doubt.
Fasting is 2,000 years old, and we used to know its benefits (Jason Fung)
Insulin does not cause cancer, but in the lab, it's clear: breast cancer cells need insulin, because the nutrient sensing pathways are the same as the growth pathways. You need insulin to grow the cells. (Also Fung)
7
The cancers involved are more likely to be found in overweight people. Regular sugary drinks consumption tends to increase one's chances of becoming overweight or obese.
I am drinking more regular soda and chai now, as I try to gain back the weight I lost this spring. (I am underweight.)
1
So the isn't going after one product (sugar-sweetened beverages) that is declining wildly in consumption, but after sugar. So how about trying to educate consumers on overall sugar consumption (hello Frappucino drinkers, M&M eaters, & wine drinkers) instead of headlines like this about one product?
3
@Steven M. The Times can only report on the study as it was conducted.
3
This isn't a "new study" they have been saying this for years. (in fact my chiropractor has a video he plays in office about the sugar industry, the danger of sugar in all its forms and the cover up to brand sugar as healthy and make people believe "fat makes you fat" which is a lie.) Its also a fact that many cancers use sugar as a food source. That is why they have so many names for sugar, as people learn the names of these toxins they rebrand them so people don't know what they are and are then sold as "alternatives to sugar". Pure cane sugar is still sugar and therefore still unhealthy, fruit juices dont have the fiber of fruit so its just pure sugar water and no different than a soda. The recent surge of Ketogenics even focuses on these facts as part of their diet plans.
8
"A new study suggests . . . ."
For anyone with (A) an IQ over room temperature, (B) a sincere interest in their own well-being and (C) familiarity with any of hundreds of articles published in medical journals over the last 10+ years, sugar-sweetened drinks and fruit juices are easily recognized as POISONS. As a recognized poison, you don't drink them at all; they don't pass your lips. Period.
For the rest of you not covered by (A), (B) and (C) above, drink up. Good luck to you and your kids. Actions and choices have consequences. Don't whine to me when you and your loved ones come down with breast cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer.
14
@Greg Gerner
A little harsh; but every morning, even as I put a good-sized teaspoon of sugar into my ice coffee, I think, You're going to give yourself cancer.
You're right. It isn't news.
(As for soda: Once a year, before Passover, I buy 3-4 large kosher-for-Passover bottles of Coca Cola that last me the summer and into the autumn. Not religious, not Jewish; but the kosher Coke is made with real sugar, not corn syrup, and tastes more like what we kids drank sixty years ago.)
3
It’s observational but more evidence we need to rid children and adults of the sugar drinks. Sugar is our generations’ tobacco. They used to allow cigarettes on airplanes and in hospitals. In 50 years I can only hope my grandchildren are saying: “you know they used to allow people to drink sugar”. My small hospital has gotten rid of the SSBs it’s a small start.
https://www.salon.com/2018/06/03/get-sugary-drinks-out-of-hospitals/
22
In case you're wondering how much people in France drink compared to the US, the US drinks almost 4 times as much sugar-sweetened beverages as the French, and 1.5 times as much fruit juice.
Per the study referenced below, the average consumption for people over 20 years of age in 2010 is:
Sugar-sweetened beverages: France 2.2 oz./day; US 8.4 oz./day.
Fruit juice: France 1.7 oz./day. US 2.9 oz./day.
Reference: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0124845#sec024, the S1_File.pdf file.
17
You need a link to the article. It is here.
https://www.bmj.com/content/366/bmj.l2408
12
Sugar does seem to be one ingredient which should be used most sparingly, and not at all in most products. It's production should not be government subsidized.
In this case, the association is sufficient to remind me to avoid it.
32