According to Healthline - When someone talks about beverages that are bad for your health, it is normal to think of alcoholic beverages and soft drinks full of sugar. Yes, alcohol and soft drinks have their harmful effects, especially when they are consumed in an exaggerated manner, but they are not the only ones.
As much as we associate a fruit juice with a healthy drink, since theoretically it is prepared from fruits, which are nutritious foods, many of the ready-made and industrialized juices we find around have much less fruit and much more sugar.
Not only does high sugar consumption encourage weight gain, but high sugar intake has been linked to the development of diabetes and can also harm heart health, according to Harvard Health Publishing.
The consumption of many added sugars may also favor the development of fatty liver disease, increase blood pressure and chronic inflammation, added the Harvard publication.
As if that wasn't enough, French research has indicated that consuming fruit juice daily may increase the risk of developing cancer. Spoiler: the dangers are most evident in relation to breast cancer.
The study, which was published in the scientific journal The BMJ, analyzed the eating habits and cancer occurrence records of 101,257,000 participants over a period of up to nine years.
Throughout the experiment, the scientists looked for associations between various forms of cancer and the intake of fruit juices, traditional carbonated drinks (a group that includes soft drinks), and diet or artificially sweetened carbonated drinks.
The researchers found that consuming 100 ml of fruit juice was related to a 12 percent increase in the risk of getting cancer overall and a 15 percent increase in the chances of developing breast cancer.
In the case of carbonated drinks such as soft drinks, the scientists found that drinking the same 100 ml was associated with an 18 percent increase in the overall risk of getting cancer and a 22 percent increase in the chances of developing breast cancer.
However, the experiment found no links between sugary drinks and colorectal cancer and prostate cancer, and no associations between artificially sweetened drinks and the development of cancer.
The risk is not only for overweight people
Scientists already knew that sugary drinks and foods cause weight gain and that people who are overweight or obese had a higher risk of developing cancer.
However, until then it was difficult to analyze to what extent sugary fruit juices and carbonated drinks such as soft drinks could increase the chances of cancer.
For the spokesperson and head of evidence and research interpretation at the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), the study in question provides very interesting data regarding sugar-sweetened beverages and cancer, since it suggests that these beverages increase the danger of developing the disease even for those who are not overweight or obese.
Similarly, scientists from France's Public Health Agency have pointed out that being overweight or gaining weight may not be the only triggers for the association between sugary drinks and cancer risk.
The scientists mentioned other research that indicated that these drinks resulted in the formation of fat around the abdomen, even for people who were at a healthy weight level, which promoted the growth of tumors.
For the scientists, another possible explanation for the association between the consumption of sugary drinks and cancer risk may be the high glycemic load of these drinks.
But what if I like juice
Some people cannot consume only water on a daily basis and like to drink beverages with more flavor, especially to cool down on hot days. Can they never drink fruit juice again?
Not necessarily. The healthy alternative to juices full of sugar is to prepare natural, healthier versions of the drink at home by blending fresh fruit with water in a blender without adding sugar and without straining the juice.
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