Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly. Once diagnosed individuals live an average of 6 months. One of the main causes of pancreatic cancer is alcoholism, another is a high fat diet. For some individuals there are no known causes or risk factors.
A new study from Sweden found that a diet high in sugar was associated with a dramatic increase in pancreatic cancer. The results from this study were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
To find this relationship researchers looked at data from more than 80,000 men and women over an 8 year period. The diet of each participant was carefully analyzed for sugar intake, especially in the form of carbonated beverages and sweetened tea and coffee.
By the end of the study 131 of the participants had developed pancreatic cancer. The risk of developing pancreatic cancer in this study group jumped by 50 to 90 percent based on the type and quantity of sugar consumed.
For those participants who ate a common sugary Swedish dessert at least once a day the risk of pancreatic cancer jumped by 50 percent. If the participants were guilty of adding sugar to at least five daily drinks the risk was 70 percent. Then there was a 90 percent increase in risk of developing pancreatic cancer if more than two carbonated or syrup-based drinks were drank each day.
Be aware that the levels of sugar consumed in each of these categories was particularly high. Most people do not drink more than one sugary carbonated beverage every day, but it is not uncommon once or twice a week. The study is pointing out that daily high sugar intake increases the risk dramatically, and does not give information about casual or less often intake.
Pancreatic cancer is very difficult to treat because it is usually discovered in later stages and the manifestations of cancer can be detrimental to surrounding organs. More than 200,000 cases are diagnosed each year with less than a 10 percent survival rate.
It is important to understand every measure we can take to prevent this deadly form of cancer, especially because many people diagnosed do not have any risk factors and/or known cause.
Posted by Dr. Christina Gutierrez on November 9, 2006 04:22 PM
