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Coffee and carbonated drinks have opposite effects
Source: (cancerfacts.com)
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
NEW ORLEANS – May 18, 2004 – Drinking caffeinated beverages may benefit some people who are at high-risk for liver disease, but drinking soda pop may increase the risk for cancer of the throat, according to new research.
The study presented today at Digestive Disease Week, the annual meeting of physicians and researchers in gastroenterology, heptology and endoscopy reaffirms the current nutritional recommendations for a healthy diet.
"The relationships between diet and disease that these investigators have seen are intriguing and should stimulate further exploration in this important area," says Dr. Lee Kaplan of Massachusetts General Hospital. "It is even more apparent that lifestyle and dietary choices made during youth can have a significant impact on health later in life."
In the study of coffee and caffeine, researchers from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease of the National Institutes of Health surveyed 5,944 adult participants of the third U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) who were at high risk for liver injury (due to excessive alcohol consumption, hepatitis B or C, iron overload, obesity, or impaired glucose metabolism. Participants were asked about consumption of caffeine-containing coffee, tea and soft drinks.
The study found an inverse correlation between coffee and caffeine consumption and liver injury, which was classified by abnormal blood test and was seen in approximately 8.7 percent of this high-risk population. In analyses both unadjusted and adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity and cigarette smoking, the prevalence of liver injury declined with increasing coffee drinking and caffeine consumption, though the protective effect was greater for caffeine intake. The correlation was consistent across subgroups when defined by individual risk factors for liver injury, as well as when applied to persons without impaired liver function.
"There is surprisingly little evidence-based information on the influence of diet and nutrition on the course and severity of chronic liver disease. So these results warrant further study," said the study's co-author, Dr. James Everhart.
In the second study, researchers at Tata Memorial Hospital in India found a strong correlation between the rise in per capita consumption of carbonated soft drinks in the past 20 years and the increasing rates of esophageal cancer in the United States. The esophagus is the lower part of the throat where it meets the stomach.
Based on population data and diet changes in America from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, per capita consumption of carbonated soft drinks rose by more than 450 percent during the past half-century, from 10.8 gallons in 1946 to 49.2 gallons in 2000. At the same time, in the last 25 years, incidence rates of esophageal cancer have risen by more than 570 percent in American white males and continue to increase. The rise in consumption of carbonated soft drinks preceded the rise in cases of throat cancer by 20 years.
Researchers found previously published data indicating a strong biological basis to explain the increased dose and duration of esophageal exposure to acid: carbonated soft drinks cause gastric distension, or expansion of the stomach, that triggers acid reflux.
Consumption of 350 milliliters of soft drinks per day (approximately one can of soda) corresponds to 53.5 minutes of elevated acid levels in the stomach. When calculated on an annual basis, 53 gallons per year translates to 32,100 more minutes of acid exposure per year.
Excess carbonated consumption started in childhood and American teenagers drank two cans of soda pop per day on average, which can explain the birth cohort effect. White children drank significantly more soda pop than black children.
In general, identical time trends were seen worldwide, as countries with per capita soda consumption below 10 gallons (including Eastern Europe, Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea and India, among others) had little increase in the incidence of esophageal cancer. Countries with per capita consumption of soda pop of more than 20 gallons have seen a rising trend of esophageal cases.
"The surprisingly strong correlation demonstrates the impact of diet patterns on health trends," said Dr. Mohandas Mallath, lead author on the study. "This study re-emphasizes a general life style dictum that 'if a little is good, a lot isn't better.' As the rates may continue to rise for another 20 years, we believe that more epidemiological studies are urgently required to establish the true association."
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