Hands Off My Coke!

A study from the University of Minnesota was released today which states that drinking more than 2 soft drinks a week increases your risk of getting pancreatic cancer. Since I live off a steady stream of cola, should I be worried? The study's author states that it isn't anything in pop specifically, rather it is the "high levels of sugar in soft drinks [that] may be increasing the level of insulin in the body, which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth." While the authors did test fruit juice (which is MORE sugary than most pop) and found no link, they did not test iced tea, coffee with sugar, flavoured waters, beer, wine or any of the other sweet beverages around. And if the sugar is the culprit, there is a lot of sugar in a lot of things. Did you have a glass of milk with breakfast? As much sugar in there as half a can of pepsi. What about some low-fat, prebiotic strawberry yogurt? You'll get more sugar there than in a can of 7up or Schweppes Ginger Ale. Put ketchup on anything? That's 5 grams a tablespoon. The list of items with sugar, whether added or natural, is a long one and any one of them could have similar pancreatic effects as pop. Finally, it is important to note the authors themselves point out that"people who consume carbonated, sugar-sweetened soft drinks on a regular basis tend to have a poor behavioral profile overall," meaning that it's most likely that the participants who got cancer in this study had poor diets and other contributing health and lifestyle factors besides a twice-weekly soft drink habit. Oh, and on top of that, some warn "that the study may be based on too few cases (only 140 participants developed pancreatic cancer) and that other risk factors such as smoking may have contributed to the results." Now, where's my Coke?