Soda Linked to Cancer: Study

Health lobby wants caramel coloring banned

(NEWSER) - You already know soda can make you fat —but it could also give you cancer. A DC health lobby group claims the caramel coloring used by Coca-Cola and Pepsi includes two cancer-causing chemicals and should be banned, the Daily Mail reports. While the caramel one might make at home (using sugar and water) isn't exactly healthy, researchers say artificial caramel coloring is even worse—it's made my mixing sugar with ammonia and sulfites. More»

No improvement in young adults' mortality rates

(NEWSER) - Cancer death rates are down overall, the American Cancer Society says, falling 1.8% among men and 1.6% among women between 2004 and 2008. Rates have dropped across all ethnic groups except American Indians and Alaskan natives, the Los Angeles Times notes. But the incidence of some types of the disease is climbing, and the Wall Street Journal has details: Cancers of the oropharynx—around the back of the throat—tied to human papillomavirus are climbing, though oropharyngeal cancers unrelated to HPV are dropping, perhaps thanks to declining smoking rates. More»

(NEWSER) - Grill-happy Americans who favor burned or charred red meat are 60% more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than people who eat less incinerated protein, Reuters reports. Charred meat is known to contain cancer-causing compounds, but the study makes the first direct connection. “Turning down the heat when grilling, frying, and barbecuing,” the lead author said, will lower the risk. More»

'Natural' substitute an advertiser's dream

(NEWSER) - The arrival of stevia, a new artificial sweetener approved by the FDA in December, will likely upend the fake-sugar market, the New York Times reports. Sweet ’N Low, Equal, and Splenda have fought to stalemate of sorts, but stevia brings a huge advantage: Because it comes from a plant, marketers can push it as a natural ingredient. To hammer home that point, stevia packets are green. More»

Trend, ongoing since beginning of decade, linked to less smoking

(NEWSER) - Cancer researchers reported a good-news milestone today: Both the number of new cases and the number of cancer deaths are declining for the first time, USA Today reports. Scientists gave most of the credit to a drop in the number of smokers. “By preventing smoking, you can give someone 10 or 15 years,” one of the study’s authors said. Overall death rates are down 1.8% and new cases by .08%. More»