Eating more than two servings a week of sugary foods was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, researchers found.
The South Korean researchers found that the link was particularly evident for sweetened cereals and ice cream.
The study was published on October 31 in the European Journal of Nutrition, Ziare.com reported. The researchers included more than 71,000 women aged 40 to 69 who participated in the Health Examinees-Gem (HEXA-G) study, conducted between 2004 and 2013 in nearly 40 general hospitals and medical centers in South Korea.
After an average follow-up period of about nine years, the researchers identified nearly 700 new cases of breast cancer among the participants. The results showed that women who ate more than two servings per week of foods such as sweetened cereals, ice cream and other sugary products had a 28 percent higher risk of breast cancer compared to those who ate less than one serving per month.
In contrast, no association was found between fruit consumption and breast cancer risk, even though fruit accounted for the largest portion of sugar intake in the study population.
The health effects of high sugar consumption are well known, and the World Health Organization recommends that free and added sugars account for less than 10% of total daily energy intake. Excessive consumption of added sugar can contribute to health problems such as weight gain and obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“There is a huge body of research showing the negative health effects of high sugar consumption, especially added sugar and sugar from processed foods, as opposed to the sugar naturally present in fruit,” Dr. Michelle Holmes, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told Newsweek.
“High sugar consumption has negative effects on diabetes, heart disease, tooth decay and liver disease. This study, which suggests a possible link between sweet foods and breast cancer, provides yet another reason to limit sugar consumption,” she explained.
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