In a recent study from Yale University, scientists found a link between drinking artificially sweetened beverages and a much lower risk of colon cancer recurrence and cancer death.
They say the finding clearly shows they help avoid cancer recurrence and death in patients who have been treated for advanced colon cancer.
In the study, the team examined 1018 patients. They found those participants who drank one or more 12-ounce servings of artificially sweetened beverages per day experienced a 46 percent improvement in risk of cancer recurrence or death, compared to those who didn’t drink these beverages.
The team defined these soft drinks as caffeinated colas, caffeine-free colas, and other carbonated beverages (such as diet ginger ale).
They also found that about half that benefit was due to substituting an artificially sweetened beverage for a beverage sweetened with sugar.
The researchers say that the finding fits in with all that we know about colon cancer risk in general.
Factors such as obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, and a diet linked to diabetes—all of which led to an excess energy balance—are known risk factors.
The study now finds that, in terms of colon cancer recurrence and survival, the use of artificially sweetened drinks is not a health risk, but is, in this study, a healthier choice.
Concerns that artificial sweeteners may increase the incidence of obesity, diabetes, and cancer have been raised, but previous studies on issues such as weight gain and diabetes have been very mixed, and, regarding cancer, epidemiologic studies in humans have not demonstrated such relationships.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and vitamin D supplements strongly reduces cancer death.
For more information about cancer, please see recent studies about how drinking milk affects risks of heart disease and cancer, and results showing high vitamin D levels linked to decreased risk of bladder cancer.
The research was published in PLOS ONE and conducted by Charles S. Fuchs et al.
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