A recent study has allegedly linked soft drink consumption to an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Mark Pereira, et al., “Soft Drink and Juice Consumption and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer: The Singapore Chinese Health Study,” Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, February 2010. Using data from 60,524 participants enrolled in the Singapore Chinese Health Study, researchers determined that individuals who consumed more than two carbonated, sugar-sweetened beverages per week “experienced a statistically significant increased risk of pancreatic cancer… compared with individuals who did not consume soft drinks after adjustment for potential confounders.” In addition, the study did not find a similar association for juice consumption. “The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing the level of insulin in the body, which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth,” one author was quoted as saying. Other scientists, however, have noted some limitations of the study, which was the…
Category Archives Scientific/Technical Items
A recent literature review has examined research that links children’s artificial sweetener consumption to weight gain, purportedly finding “no strong clinical evidence for causality.” Rebecca J. Brown, et al., “Artificial Sweeteners: A systematic review of metabolic effects in youth, “International Journal of Pediatric Obesity, January 2010. Sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Disease, the meta-analysis looked at 18 studies that included both randomized controlled trials, which did not demonstrate any adverse or beneficial metabolic effects for artificial sweeteners, and “data from large, epidemiologic studies,” which tended to “support the existence of an association between artificially-sweetened beverage consumption and weight gain in children.” The review also pointed to questions raised by recent animal studies while admitting the difficulty of establishing “causality between artificial sweetener consumption, weight gain, and metabolic abnormalities, as artificial sweetener is like to be an indicator for other variables.” According to the authors, “At…
A recent study has reportedly linked the consumption of animal protein to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Ivonne Sluij, et al., “ Dietary Intake of Total, Animal, and Vegetable Protein and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-NL Study,” Diabetes Care, January 2010. Using data from 38,094 participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-NL study, researchers apparently examined the association among diabetes incidence and dietary intake of vegetable and animal proteins. The study claims that diabetes risk increased 30 percent for every 5 percent of calories consumed from animal protein at the expense of carbohydrates or fat. According to the authors, “Our findings also suggest a similar association for total protein itself instead of only animal sources... This finding indicates that accounting for protein content in dietary recommendations for diabetes prevention may be useful.” See…
A recent study has reportedly linked dry food containing low amounts of carbohydrates to increased acrylamide levels. Edoardo Capuano, et al., “Lipid oxidation promotes acrylamide formation in fat-rich model systems,” Food Research International, (January 2010). Sponsored by the European Science Foundation, researchers formulated a range of fat-rich model systems and then measured acrylamide levels after heating. Results apparently showed that the degree of fat oxidation significantly influenced the presence of acrylamide, a chemical by product of some high-temperature cooking processes that has been linked to cancer in laboratory rats. According to the study’s abstract, foods formulated with antioxidants such as catechins and certain oils reduced acrylamide levels particularly in fat-rich, sugar-free foods “presumably by trapping carbohydrates and/or preventing lipid oxidation. More acrylamide was formed in model systems composed with sunflower oil than in those containing palm oil which is less susceptible to oxidation.” The abstract noted that acrylamide formation was…
A study of microbial contamination in soda fountains within a 22-mile radius of Roanoke, Virginia, claims that nearly one-half of them harbored “coliform bacteria” that could contain fecal matter. Amy S. White, et al., “Beverages obtained from soda fountain machines in the U.S. contain microorganisms, including bacteria,” International Journal of Food Microbiology, January 2010. Researchers studied 90 beverages of three types (sugar sodas, diet sodas and water) from 30 soda fountains (both self-service and staff-operated) to analyze and evaluate microorganisms with respect to U.S. drinking water regulations. They found that 48 percent of the beverages harbored coliform bacteria, 11 percent contained E. coli and 17 percent had Chryseobacterium meningosepticum. The authors speculated that the contamination could have come from “dispensing with a hand that wasn’t clean or using wet rags to wipe down the machine.” “These findings suggest that soda fountain machines may harbor persistent communities of potentially pathogenic microorganisms which may contribute to…
Two recent studies have reportedly suggested that obesity rates in America have remained constant for at least five years among men and closer to 10 years for women and children. Using data obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), researchers concluded that although approximately 32 percent of men and 35 percent of women are obese, “the increases in the prevalence of obesity previously observed do not appear to be continuing at the same rate over the past 10 years, particularly for women and possibly for men.” In addition, a separate study apparently found a similar plateau in obesity rates for children. “Right now we’ve halted the progress of the obesity epidemic,” William Dietz, CDC’s Director of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, was quoted as saying. “The data are really promising. That said, I don’t think we have in place the kind…
A recent study has claimed that “higher urinary concentrations of bisphenol A [BPA] are associated with an increased prevalence of coronary heart disease.” David Melzer, et al., “Association of Urinary Bisphenol A Concentration with Heart Disease: Evidence from NHANES 2003/06,” PLoS ONE, January 2010. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003/04 and 2005/06, researchers examined the urinary BPA concentrations of participants aged 18-74 years, “representative of the general adult population of the United States.” According to the authors, “Associations have previously been reported between urinary BPA concentrations and heart disease, diabetes and liver enzymes in adults participants of [NHANES] 2003/04.” The 2005/06 NHANES data purportedly confirmed that “higher BPA exposure, reflected in higher urinary concentrations of BPA, is consistently associated with reported heart disease in the general adult population of the USA.” The study noted, however, that “Associations between urinary BPA concentrations and diabetes or…
A recent study has reportedly questioned the current availability of scientific literature establishing evidence for physical sugar addiction in humans. David Benton, “The plausibility of sugar addiction and its role in obesity and eating disorders,” Clinical Nutrition, January 2010. David Benton, a psychology professor with the University of Swansea in Wales, apparently reviewed previous research on the role of sugar addiction in obesity and eating disorders. Noting a lack of scientific consensus on the term “addiction,” he construed sugar addiction to involve physical craving, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms, meaning that “Fasting should increase food cravings, predominantly for sweet items; cravings should occur after an overnight fast; the obese should find sweetness particularly attractive; a high-sugar consumption should predispose to obesity.” Using this definition, Benton apparently found “no support from the human literature for the hypothesis that sucrose may be physically addictive or that addiction to sugar plays a role in…
French researchers with the Committee of Independent Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (CRIIGEN), the University of Rouen and the University of Caen have published a paper allegedly linking genetically modified (GM) corn varieties to “new side effects” in mammals. Joël Spiroux de Vendômois, et al., “A Comparison of the Effects of Three GM Corn Varieties on Mammalian Health,” International Journal of Biological Science, December 2009. “[A] comparative analysis of blood and organ system data” from industry-sponsored studies, the paper claims that GM corn-fed rats exhibited “sex- and often dose-dependent” side effects “mostly associated with the kidney and liver, the dietary detoxifying organs,” as well as the “heart, adrenal glands, spleen and hematopoietic system.” The authors concluded that “these data highlight signs of hepatorenal toxicity, possibly due to the new pesticides specific to each GM corn,” adding that “unintended direct or indirect metabolic consequences of the genetic modification cannot be excluded.” See…
A forthcoming study has reportedly concluded that, in terms of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) lost, “the overall health burden of obesity among U.S. adults has increased consistently since 1993” and now rivals the overall health burden of smoking. Haomiao Jia and Erica Lubetkin, “Trends in Quality-Adjusted Life Years Lost Contributed by Smoking and Obesity: Does the Burden of Obesity Overweight [sic] the Burden of Smoking?,” American Journal of Preventative Medicine, February 2010. Researchers examined “the trend of the health burden of smoking and obesity for U.S. adults from 1993 to 2008 using currently available population-based data” obtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which has interviewed more than 3.5 million individuals. Designed to quantify the years gained by a health intervention while adjusting for quality of life, QALYs apparently use “preference-based measurements of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) to provide an assessment of the overall burden of diseases associated…
