Sugary drinks promote the spread of colon cancer

A recent US study warns that soft drinks, beverages and sugary juices can promote the growth and spread of colon tumors, especially in people with or at risk of developing the disease.

The study was conducted by researchers at the Weill Cornell Medical School of New York University and published in the journal Science (Science).

The researchers pointed out that the demand for soft drinks and sugary drinks, used in the manufacture and analysis of high-fructose corn syrup, has increased significantly since the 1980s, while to increase high rates of obesity and metabolic syndrome, as well as colorectal cancer in adults of middle and young age.

The high fructose corn syrup is made from corn starch, to which one adds enzymes that are converted into syrups of glucose, sugar and maltose, a popular drink that we find in soft drinks and fruit flavored drinks.

Follow-up studies suggest that people who consume more drinks and sugary foods have a higher risk of colon cancer.

To achieve the results of the new study, researchers monitored two groups of mice genetically engineered for the development of colon tumors. They first administered a small dose of high-fructose corn syrup for eight to nine weeks, while the latter did not consume sugar-sweetened beverages.

The dose given to mice from high fructose corn syrup was equivalent to the sugar contained in a package of non-alcoholic beverages eaten by humans, the researchers said.

The researchers compared the tumors of both groups and found that the group that consumed the high fructose corn syrup developed more tumors and faster than their peers who did not drink.

"Based on our findings, people with colon cancer or at risk should avoid sugary and sugary drinks," said the team's research leader, Dr. Louis Cantley.