Does Soda Drinks Really Cause Cancer ? Reality Exposed

Does Soda Drinks Really Cause Cancer ? Reality Exposed Common soda ingredient exposes Americans to 'unnecessary cancer risk': study Maybe it's time to ditch your daily cola. Between 44% and 58% of people over the age of 6 could be “unnecessarily” increasing their cancer risk by drinking at least one can of soda a day, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. Soda makers often add caramel coloring to give colas and root beers their brownish hue. This process can produce a possible carcinogen called 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) that can then turn up in the beverage. "Soft drink consumers are being exposed to an avoidable and unnecessary cancer risk from an ingredient that is being added to these beverages simply for aesthetic purposes," says Dr. Keeve Nachman, a study author. Researchers paired soda consumption data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with a Consumer Reports analysis of 4-MEI levels in 110 soft drink samples purchased in California and the New York metropolitan area. The goal was to assess the impact of 4-MEI on Americans. Most sodas contain 3.4 micrograms to 352.5 micrograms of 4-MEI per 12 ounce serving, according to the Consumer Reports study. However, the 4-MEI levels varied in samples of the same type of soda. “For example, for diet colas, certain samples had higher or more variable levels of the compound, while other samples had very low concentrations,” says Tyler Smith, the lead author of the Johns Hopkins study. There was another noticeable discrepancy. Some of the California soft drinks had lower levels of the chemical than the same soda from another state, researchers said. This may have to do with California's Proposition 65, which requires companies to put warnings of products that expose consumers to more than 29 micrograms of 4-MeI per day. The Food and Drug Administration does not restrict the amount of 4-MEI in food and drinks. Eliminating it entirely "is virtually impossible," the agency says, but companies can reduce the amount produced during manufacturing. Researchers urged the FDA to set maximum levels for the chemical byproduct in beverages. "(This) could be a valuable approach to reducing excess cancer risk attributable to 4-MEI exposure in the U.S. population," Nachman says. The study was published Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE.