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Drinking soda raises risk of prostate cancer: study

Published: 27 Nov 12 06:44 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/44676/20121127/

Men who drink one normal-sized soft drink per day are at greater risk of getting more aggressive forms of prostate cancer, according to a Swedish study released Monday.

"Among the men who drank a lot of soft drinks or other drinks with added sugar, we saw an increased risk of prostate cancer of around 40 percent," said Isabel Drake, a PhD student at Lund University.

The study, to be published in the upcoming edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, followed over 8,000 men from Malmö in southern Sweden who were aged 45 to 73 for an average of 15 years.

Those who drank one 330-millilitre soft drink a day were 40 percent more likely to develop more serious forms of prostate cancer that required treatment.

The cancer was discovered after the men showed symptoms of the disease, and not through the screening process known as Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA).

Those who ate a diet heavy on rice and pasta increased their risk of getting milder forms of prostate cancer, which often required no treatment, by 31 percent, while a high intake of sugary breakfast cereals raised the incidence of milder forms of the cancer to 38 percent, Drake told AFP.

While further research was needed before dietary guidelines could be changed, there are already plenty of reasons a person should cut back on soft-drink consumption, she noted.

The men in the study had to undergo regular medical examinations and kept a journal of their food and drink intake.

Previous studies have shown that Chinese and Japanese immigrants in the US develop prostate cancer more often than peers in their home countries.

Further research on how genes respond to different diets would make it possible to "tailor food and drink guidelines for certain high-risk groups," Drake said.

AFP/The Local
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12:15 November 27, 2012 by Achilles7
I didn't know that they specifically raised your chances of developing prostate cancer, but I've always known that these types of drinks are terrible for you.

Think of the contents a can of coke. It's a fizzy potion of black, sugary syrup with artificial flavours, colourings and preservatives. How could that be good for your poor body?
20:07 November 30, 2012 by tadchem
Another stupid 'fishing expedition.' They think they've hooked another 'risk factor'. All they've done is some bad science trying to produce a scary paper that will raise enough concern to justify more funding.

If drinking soda was a 'risk factor' for prostate cancer, then nobody would have even gotten it before the invention of carbonated soda drinks.

If you want to prevent prostate cancer get a vasectomy.

All cancer is caused by damaged DNA. Sperm is *engineered* by evolution to enter living cells and change the DNA found there. Keep sperm out of the prostate and the prostate will stay healthy much longer.
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