Just One Can of Soda a Day Raises Aggressive Cancer Risk By 40 Percent

Men who drink one 300ml can of soda per day are much more likely to require treatment for a serious form of cancer than those who never consumed the drink.

A 15-year study found those who drank 300ml of a fizzy drink a day — slightly less than a standard can — were 40 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer than men who avoid the drinks.

Worryingly, the risk applied not to early-stage disease that was spotted via blood tests but to cancers that had progressed enough to cause symptoms. 

This is significant as faster-growing forms of prostate cancer are more likely to be fatal.

It is thought that sugar triggers the release of the hormone insulin, which feeds tumours.

In America in 1850, about 13 ounces of soda were consumed per person per year. In the late 1980s, more than 500 twelve-ounce cans of sodas were consumed per person per year. The 1994 annual report of the beverage industry shows that per-capita consumption of sodas is 49.1 gallons per year. Of this amount, 28.2 percent of consumption is diet soda. Current estimates per-capita is approximately 60 gallons per year. The United States are the largest consumers of soft drink consumption and at least double the consumption of almost every country in the world. 

Carbonated soda pop provides more added sugar in a typical 2-year-old toddler’s diet than cookies, candies and ice cream combined.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, affecting more than one billion worldwide annually.

The study, published in the respected American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is far from the first to link the sugary soft drinks which lead to poor health. Previous research has flagged up heart attacks, diabetes,weight gain, brittle bones, pancreatic cancer, muscle weakness and paralysis as potential risks.

In the spring of 2005, research showed a strong correlation between esophageal cancer and the drinking of carbonated beverages.