Scientists have long known that alcohol is the cause of many forms of cancer. But a new study comes to affirm that, even without alcohol, some drinks are just as bad for our health.
This study from the University of South Carolina (USA), involving more than 90,000 postmenopausal women (50 to 79 years old), revealed that women who consume at least one sugary drink a day run a 78% higher risk higher risk of developing liver cancer than those who drink it only occasionally.
Soft drinks and fruit drinks in the same basket
“Sweetened beverage intake was defined as the sum of soft drinks and fruit drinks,” the researchers point out. “After a median follow-up of 18.7 years, 205 women received a confirmed diagnosis of liver cancer. Our results suggest that sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is a potential risk factor for liver cancer in postmenopausal women. is an easily modifiable risk”.
While cirrhosis has long been the main risk for liver cancer, scientists have noticed in recent years that the risk factors have changed. And so-called “fatty liver disease” (or sometimes “soda disease”) has become the fastest-growing cause of liver cancer death. This disease is characterized by an accumulation of fat in the liver, caused by junk food but also by the consumption of sugary drinks (which the liver transforms into fat when it has too much.
The University of South Carolina researchers say additional studies in men are also needed to examine this link between liver cancer and sugary drinks more thoroughly.
Source :Association Between Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake and Liver Cancer Risk in the Women’s Health InitiativeCurrent development in nutrition, August 2022
