Major US study shows sugary drinks may raise bowel cancer risk,

Heavy consumption of sugary drinks may raise the risk of developing bowel cancer before the age of 50, according to a major study into diet and disease in US nurses.

Researchers analysed dietary and medical records of more than 95,000 women tracked from 1991 to 2015 as part of the US Nurses’ Health II study and looked for evidence linking sugary drinks to early diagnosis of bowel cancer.

The scientists reported that women who consumed more than a pint of sugary drinks a day were twice as likely over the course of the study to be diagnosed with early onset bowel cancer than those who drank less than half a pint a day.

Given that sugary drinks are already known to be bad for health – by driving up rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes – the researchers at Washington University in St Louis said their results provided another reason not to consume too much. “Our findings reinforce the public health importance of limiting sugar-sweetened beverage intake for better health outcomes,” they wrote in the journal Gut.

Read more via The Guardian