Meat, soda linked with cancers,gout

NEW studies have confirmed that red meat
consumption increases the risk of both
stomach and esophageal cancer. The study
conducted by researchers from the
nonprofits World Cancer Research Fund and
Cancer Research, was published in the
American Journal of Gastroenterology.
Also, according to a study conducted by
researchers from Boston University and
published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association, regular soda
consumption significantly increases
women ’s risk of gout.
Gout is a painful type of inflammatory
arthritis that has become increasingly
common in the past few decades.
The researchers in the red meat study
questioned 494,979 U.S. residents between
the ages of 50 and 71 about their lifestyle
and diet habits, including consumption of
red meat and their favored cooking
methods, then followed them for
approximately 10 years.
They found that after adjusting for
potentially confounding factors such as age,
exercise, smoking and weight, participants
who ate the most red meat had a 79 per
cent higher risk of developing a cancer of
the upper esophagus known as esophageal
squamous cell carcinoma. Participants who
ate the most food containing higher levels
of one type of heterocyclic amine (HCA) had
a 44 per cent higher risk of a cancer of the
upper stomach known as gastric cardia.
HCAs are carcinogens formed when meat is
cooked at high temperature. The HCA
monitored in the study is called DiMelQx.
Prior studies looking for a link have had
mixed results because they failed to look at
different varieties of stomach and
esophageal cancer separately, the
researchers said. No connection was found
between red meat consumption and other
such cancers, which have separate risk
factors. Adenocarcinoma of the lower
esophagus, for example, is more strongly
linked to smoking and heavy drinking.
High red meat consumption has also been
linked to other severe health problems,
including heart disease and other forms of
cancer.
The researchers in the soda and gout
research studied 78,906 women who had
taken part in the Nurses ’ Health Study
between 1984 and 2006 and who had no
history of gout at the beginning of the
study. They found that over the course of
22 years, women who consumed one
serving of soda per day were 74 per cent
more likely to develop gout than those who
had less than one per month. Women who
drank two or more servings of soda per
day were 240 per cent more likely.
A connection between soda consumption
and gout is not surprising because fructose,
a component of sugar, causes the body to
produce more uric acid. Uric acid buildup is
the immediate cause of gout.
Sugary beverages are widely reviled by
nutritionists as a source of empty calories
that raises the risk of obesity and diabetes.