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Intensive Exercise a Fountain of Youth for Aging Muscles

WEDNESDAY, April 6, 2016 (HealthDay News) — One key to keeping muscles young is as close as the nearest gym, researchers say.

“High-level” exercise appears to help keep older people’s muscles young at the cellular level, the Canadian study finds.

“Exercise is definitely an important contributor to functional performance,” and even non-athletes can benefit from workouts, study lead author Geoff Power, of the University of Guelph, said in a university news release.

“Staying active, even later in life, can help reduce muscle loss,” added Power, who is professor in Guelph’s department of human health and nutritional sciences.

Power explained that as people get older, they lose muscle mass and strength, and this process speeds up after age 60.

But the researchers found that muscle decline is slower in elderly people who are elite athletes.

As reported recently in the Journal of Applied Physiology, the investigators compared the muscles of world-class track and field athletes in their 80s with people the same age who lived on their own but weren’t athletes.

Compared to the non-athletes, the elderly athletes’ legs were 25 percent stronger and had about 14 percent more muscle mass. In addition, the athletes had nearly one-third more “motor units” — which consist of nerve and muscle fiber — in their leg muscles. More motor units means more muscle mass and greater strength, the study authors explained in the news release.

Finding ways “to intervene and delay the loss of motor units in old age is of critical importance,” Power said.

However, every person is different and “we cannot rule out the importance of genetics,” he added. Power said more research is needed to determine whether higher levels of muscle health in older elite athletes is the result of training or genes, or both.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advice on exercise for older adults.

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Death of Loved One May Trigger Heart Rhythm Trouble

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, April 6, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Losing your nearest and dearest may break your heart, literally.

People are more likely to develop an irregular heartbeat following the death of their spouse or life partner, particularly if they’re younger or the loved one died unexpectedly, a new study suggests.

Risk of atrial fibrillation — a quivering or irregular heartbeat that can cause stroke and heart disease — was 41 percent higher among people mourning the death of their partner, compared to others who are not grieving, Danish researchers report.

The study reinforces earlier research that has suggested a link between heart rhythm problems and emotional turmoil, said Dr. Mark Estes, director of the New England Cardiac Arrhythmia Center at Tufts Medical Center, in Boston.

“Many patients describe that their atrial fibrillation gets worse at a time of emotional stress,” Estes said. “This really validates prior observations. It’s something we hear from our patients all the time.”

People younger than 60 were more than twice as likely to develop atrial fibrillation if they lost their partner, the new study reported.

In addition, those whose partners were relatively healthy in the month before they died were 57 percent more likely to develop atrial fibrillation. This increased risk was not seen in people whose partners were ailing and expected to die soon.

In both cases, it appears that the shock of the death added to the impact of the event on the survivor’s health, said Dr. Mary Norine Walsh, medical director of heart failure and cardiac transplantation at St. Vincent Heart Center in Indianapolis.

“This suggests the suddenness or the unexpectedness of the death contributed to the risk of a-fib,” said Walsh, who also is vice president of the American College of Cardiology. “The people who were older and suffered a loss, maybe their loss was more expected.”

For the study, researchers compared more than 88,600 Danish people newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation with 886,120 healthy people, matched for age and sex, between 1995 and 2014.

People who lost their partner were not only at greater risk for an abnormal heart rhythm, but the risk was independent of gender and other conditions that might contribute to the disorder, the researchers said.

The risk seemed greatest eight to 14 days following a death, after which it gradually subsided. After a year the risk was similar to that of someone who had not been bereaved, the researchers said.

Because this was an observational study, it cannot draw a direct cause-and-effect link between the death of a partner and atrial fibrillation, the researchers noted.

But stress and powerful emotions are known to flood the body with “fight or flight” hormones that can take a toll on the heart, said Dr. Suraj Kapa, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist in Rochester, Minn.

For example, studies have shown that depression or anxiety can be used to predict whether a person will relapse into atrial fibrillation after going through cardioversion, a medical procedure that uses electricity or drugs to put the heart back into a normal rhythm, Kapa said.

Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women’s Heart Health at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said the study shows why people who’ve suffered a tragic death in their lives need the support of friends and family.

“We use that phrase ‘broken heart’ as though it’s a colloquialism, but there’s a reality to it,” Steinbaum said. “The most important thing is having a support system, especially in the event of a sudden, unexpected death. It’s so important that people get the support they need.”

It also underlines the importance of doctors taking a few minutes during an office visit to ask about their patient’s personal life, Walsh said.

“Physicians should be taking a careful personal history so the loss of a loved one is not missed,” Walsh said, noting the bereaved can be counseled on ways to protect their heart health.

The study was published April 5 in the journal Open Heart.

More information

For more on atrial fibrillation, visit the American Heart Association.

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Pot Use During Pregnancy Tied to Low Birth Weight Babies

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Pregnant women who use marijuana may be putting their baby at risk for health problems, a new study suggests.

A review of 24 studies found that pot use during pregnancy is potentially linked to delivering a baby with a low birth weight and the newborn’s placement in the intensive care unit, the researchers reported.

“As states and countries continue to legalize the use of cannabis [marijuana], understanding the relationship between cannabis and fetal health is essential,” said study author Jayleen Gunn. She is an assistant research scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

“Some previous studies have found a negative effect of cannabis on fetal health, while others found no effect,” she said.

Many of the studies the researchers looked at could only show an association between marijuana and health problems in newborns, not that marijuana caused these problems.

In addition, the studies did not account for use of other drugs or unhealthy habits the pregnant women may have engaged in that might also cause low birth weight and other health problems, the researchers noted.

Because recent research has pointed to links between marijuana use and an increased risk of car accidents, psychosis, HIV and other health problems, more research is needed to nail down the potential harm to maternal health and fetal development, the study authors said.

“Pregnant women could benefit from education on the potential side effects of using cannabis during pregnancy. More research is needed in order to understand this relationship,” Gunn suggested.

In the review, Gunn and her colleagues found that infants exposed to marijuana in the womb had 77 percent higher odds of being underweight at birth, compared with infants whose mothers did not use marijuana.

Also, if the mother used marijuana during pregnancy, the baby had a two times greater likelihood of being placed in an intensive care unit, compared with infants whose mothers did not use the drug during pregnancy, Gunn said.

In addition, mothers-to-be who used marijuana were 36 percent more likely to be anemic than women who didn’t use the drug, the findings showed.

Gunn said the study authors weren’t able to tell if outcomes were different between marijuana that was smoked or eaten, as in a brownie.

“Unfortunately, the research is not there yet to look at the form of cannabis or the amount used,” she said. “It’s a major limitation to the research available at this time.”

Marijuana “remains the drug of choice in developed and developing countries,” with up to 5 percent of 15- to 64-year-olds around the world believed to use it, the researchers said.

The report was published online April 5 in the journal BMJ Open.

Paul Armentano is deputy director of NORML, a group that advocates for the legalization of marijuana. He said that little is known about the effect of marijuana on a developing fetus.

“This is in contrast to the known prenatal effects of many other controlled substances, both illicit and licit, the significant adverse effects of which are well-documented,” he said.

The available data does not indicate that any potential “adverse impact of maternal cannabis use is any greater than the known adverse effects of tobacco and alcohol,” Armentano added.

Treating cannabis like other legal, regulated substances means, in certain circumstances, discouraging its use among certain populations who may be at higher risk than the general population, he noted.

More information

Visit the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse for more on marijuana.

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6 Stars on Why It’s Time to Retire the Term ‘Plus Size’

Photo: Getty Images

Earlier today, Amy Schumer called out Glamour for including her in a bonus issue about “plus-size” women without her permission.

“I think there’s nothing wrong with being plus size,” Schumer wrote in a post on Instagram. “Beautiful healthy women. Plus size is considered size 16 in America. I go between a size 6 and an 8. @glamourmag put me in their plus size only issue without asking or letting me know and it doesn’t feel right to me. Young girls seeing my body type thinking that is plus size? What are your thoughts? Mine are not cool glamour not glamourous.”

The story appears in an edition of the magazine geared at women sizes 12 and up, done in partnership with the women’s clothing retailer Lane Bryant. In response to Schumer’s post, a Glamour spokesperson told People that they did not actually describe the actress as plus size: “The cover line on this special edition … simply says ‘Women Who Inspire Us,’ since we believe her passionate and vocal message of body positivity IS inspiring.”

Schumer has taken to Twitter to continue to the dialogue. “Bottom line seems to be that we are done with these unnecessary labels which seem to be reserved for women,” she tweeted.

She isn’t the only celebrity who has spoken out against the term “plus size.” Here, five more women who have articulated why the phrase has got to go.

Ashley Graham

This year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover girl (and self-proclaimed body activist) made headlines at SXSW last month when she argued that the term “plus size” should be retired. “I think the word plus-sized is totally outdated,” Graham said. “It shouldn’t be about labels… I don’t want to be called a label, I want to be called a model.”

Melissa McCarthy

In an interview with Refinery29 last fall, the actress and fashion designer explained why she feels so frustrated when she hears her clothing line, Melissa McCarthy Seven7, referred to as a “plus-size” line:

“Women come in all sizes. Seventy percent of women in the United States are a size 14 or above, and that’s technically ‘plus size,’ so you’re taking your biggest category of people and telling them, ‘You’re not really worthy.’ I find that very strange,” she said. “I also find it very bad business. It doesn’t make a lot of sense numbers-wise. It’s like, if you open a restaurant and you say, ‘We’re primarily gonna serve people that don’t eat.’ It’s like, what? You would be nuts. Yet, people do it with clothing lines all the time, and no one seems to have a problem with it. I just don’t get why we always have to group everything into a good or bad, right or wrong category. I just think, if you’re going to make women’s clothing, make women’s clothing. Designers that put everyone in categories are over-complicating something that should be easy.”

Meghan Trainor

Shortly after McCarthy’s interview was published, Trainor spoke to ELLE about her #OwnYourCurves collaboration with FullBeauty and explained why she also finds the label detrimental. “I’ve always hated the word ‘plus-size.’ It bugs me,” said the singer. “When I first signed up with FullBeauty, and I talked to them. I was like, ‘I don’t want to be labeled as this plus-sized girl coming in,’ and they said, ‘Absolutely not, we don’t like that term either.’ Which is why we like to say ‘full beauty’ [and] why I was immediately excited to work with them. Everything Melissa said is completely accurate. [They’re] a big part of our society, women who are size 14, and how are you going to criticize us? The word ‘plus-sized’ should be gone.”

Robyn Lawley

Back in 2014, the model argued against “plus size” in an interview with Cosmopolitan Australia, noting that the distinction is unnecessary and forces curvy models into a smaller market. “It’s ridiculous and derogatory—it puts women down and it puts a label on them,” she told the magazine. “Women love seeing women they can relate to. It’s not about the tiny 19-year-old model with no personality. People want to see curvier girls. ‘Plus-size’ modeling is in itself [a] very small [industry]—they just need more girls to do it, and more amazing straight-sized models going into it.”

Tyra Banks

The America’s Next Top Model host has been a longtime advocate for models of all shapes and sizes. In a 2013 HuffPost Style interview, Banks explained why she uses the label “fiercely real” instead of “plus size” on the show. “I don’t want to use the term ‘plus size,’ because, to me, what the hell is that? It just doesn’t have a positive connotation to it.”

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Most Americans Want to Learn How to Help Those Injured in Disasters

TUESDAY, April 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Many Americans would take a class to learn how to stop or control bleeding to help victims of shootings, accidents or other emergency situations, a new survey suggests.

The telephone poll of more than 1,000 civilians nationwide was conducted in November 2015. More than four out of five people said they’d be interested in taking a class to learn how to stop bleeding from an injury.

Almost half had already received first aid training. Thirteen percent of that group had trained in the past two years and 52 percent said they had trained in the past five years, the poll showed.

People aged 50 to 64 were most likely to have had first aid training (57 percent). Younger people — those aged 18 to 29 — were the least likely (37 percent). Of those who had first aid training, 72 percent said the training included how to control severe bleeding.

Among respondents with first aid training, 98 percent said they would be very or somewhat likely to attempt to control severe bleeding from a leg wound in a family member. A random sample of respondents found that 61 percent would be very likely and 31 percent somewhat likely to try to stop severe bleeding in a car crash victim they didn’t know.

The survey results were published online recently in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

“We know that to save life and limb, you need to stop the bleeding very early, within five to 10 minutes or victims can lose their lives,” Dr. Lenworth Jacobs Jr., director of the Trauma Institute at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, said in a college news release.

“However, until now, there has been no clear indication of how well trained the general public is in bleeding control and how willing they might be to participate as immediate responders until professionals arrive on the scene,” added Jacobs. He is also chairman of an American College of Surgeons Committee examining how to improve survival rates in mass casualty events.

Another random sample from the poll found that 75 percent of respondents said they would try to give first aid in a mass shooting situation if it seemed safe to act, 16 percent said they would stay and wait to see what happened, and 8 percent said they would leave the area.

If the situation was safe, 62 percent said they’d be very likely and 32 percent said they’d be somewhat likely to try to stop bleeding in someone they didn’t know.

Many respondents said they had concerns about trying to control bleeding in a person they didn’t know. Some of those concerns included causing the victim additional pain or injury (65 percent), the risk of catching a disease (61 percent), causing a bad outcome (61 percent), personal safety (43 percent) and the sight of blood (30 percent).

Despite those concerns, 82 percent of physically able respondents said they would be very or somewhat interested in taking a two-hour bleeding control course. There was also strong support for placing bleeding control kits (gloves, tourniquets, compression dressings) in public places.

“Moving forward, we plan to use these new insights to develop a training program for the public, not health care professionals, so civilians can learn how to act as immediate responders. We want to steer interested people toward getting the right training, and to understand when victims are experiencing the signs of massive bleeding so they can ‘stop the bleed’ and save lives,” Jacobs said.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more on bleeding.

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FDA: 2 Diabetes Drugs May Be Linked to Heart Failure Risk

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Diabetes drugs containing saxagliptin and alogliptin may raise the risk of heart failure, particularly in patients with heart or kidney disease, U.S. health officials warned Tuesday.

Drugs containing these ingredients are Onglyza (saxagliptin), Kombiglyze XR (saxagliptin and metformin extended release), Nesina (alogliptin), Kazano (alogliptin and metformin) and Oseni (alogliptin and pioglitazone), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

People with type 2 diabetes who use these drugs should not stop taking them without consulting with their doctor, the FDA said.

The agency added that patients on these drugs should contact their doctor if they develop signs and symptoms of heart failure, including:

Unusual shortness of breath during daily activities.
Difficulty breathing when lying down.
Tiredness, weakness or fatigue.
Weight gain with swelling of the ankles, feet, legs or stomach.

The FDA said it’s adding new warnings to the drug labels about these safety concerns.

Both saxagliptin and alogliptin are in a class of drugs called dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, which along with diet and exercise are used to try to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes.

The FDA said its warning was based on results of two large trials done involving patients with heart disease. Both trials found that more patients taking drugs containing saxagliptin or alogliptin were hospitalized for heart failure than patients receiving a placebo.

In the saxagliptin trial, 3.5 percent of patients receiving the drug were hospitalized for heart failure, compared with 2.8 percent of patients receiving a placebo. This means that 35 out of every 1,000 patients taking the drug were hospitalized for heart failure, compared with 28 out of every 1,000 patients not taking it. Risk factors included a history of heart failure or kidney impairment, the FDA reported.

In the alogliptin trial, 3.9 percent of patients taking the drug were hospitalized for heart failure, compared with 3.3 percent receiving a placebo. That’s the same as 39 out of every 1,000 patients, compared with 33 out of every 1,000 patients, the agency said.

The FDA said it’s asking doctors to consider discontinuing medications containing saxagliptin and alogliptin in patients who develop heart failure. If blood sugar is not well-controlled with current treatments, other diabetes drugs may be needed, the agency said.

Dr. Minisha Sood is director of inpatient diabetes at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. She said: “At this time, it is unclear whether this is a ‘class effect’ which applies to all drugs in the DPP-4 inhibitor category or only saxagliptin and alogliptin. It also remains unclear at this time whether this advice applies to patients at relatively low risk for heart disease.”

Sood said there’s some research indicating that DPP-4 inhibitors actually reduce cardiovascular problems in some patients. “So, the ultimate effect of this drug class on cardiac events remains to be seen and further study is needed,” she said.

This class of drugs “remains a good option for many patients with diabetes given that they are oral medications with largely tolerable side effects and they effectively reduce glucose levels,” Sood said.

Patients should discuss any symptoms or side effects with their health care provider before changing medications, she added.

More information

For more on type 2 diabetes, visit the American Diabetes Association.

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Hispanics More Likely to Have Heart Pumping Problems, Study Says

TUESDAY, April 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Hispanics have higher rates of heart pumping problems than other Americans, yet many don’t know they have a disorder that can lead to heart failure, a new study finds.

The research included more than 1,800 Hispanic people. They were between 45 and 74 years old. They lived in New York City, Chicago, Miami and San Diego. About half had a blood pumping problem (called cardiac dysfunction), the study found. But, fewer than 1 in 20 knew they had the heart problem, the study revealed.

The study was published April 5 in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure.

“The perception has been that Hispanics/Latinos are a low-risk group for cardiac dysfunction, but that is not true,” senior study author Dr. Carlos Rodriguez said in a journal news release. He’s an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

A previous study that included mostly white people found that about one-third had cardiac dysfunction, the researchers said.

The new findings show that doctors should have “a high level of vigilance” in monitoring the heart health of Hispanic patients and a “low threshold for intensifying preventative therapies to avoid the possibility of heart failure down the road,” Rodriguez said.

The earlier cardiac dysfunction is detected and treated, the better, he said. Some research has suggested that aggressive reduction of risk factors can reverse cardiac dysfunction.

“Given that Hispanics/Latinos are the largest ethnic minority in the United States, with over 51 million people, they are likely to have a big impact on the heart failure epidemic,” Rodriguez said.

The study also found that among those with high rates of risk factors for cardiac dysfunction: half were obese; half had high blood pressure; two-thirds had diabetes; two-thirds were inactive; and one-fifth were smokers. These risk factors, along with heart attack, are the same risk factors for progression of cardiac dysfunction to heart failure.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more on heart failure.

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Common Irregular Heartbeat May Hamper Seniors’ Walking Ability

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Older adults who develop atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm irregularity, may be more prone to walking problems — including reduced speed, strength and balance, a new study suggests.

The physical decline associated with atrial fibrillation was equivalent to about four years of aging, the researchers said.

“Atrial fibrillation is a serious disease that can have an important impact on how older adults experience declining physical performance and function with aging,” said lead researcher Dr. Jared Magnani, an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University.

These findings don’t prove a cause-and-effect link between atrial fibrillation and declining physical performance, only that there’s an association, Magnani said.

Other factors can contribute to both the risk of atrial fibrillation and declining physical performance. These factors may include inflammation, increased muscle loss, or being overweight, the researchers said.

The report was released online April 5 in the journal Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology.

In atrial fibrillation, the heart’s two upper chambers (atria) beat irregularly and sometimes too fast. This can increase the risk of stroke, heart failure and other conditions.

For the study, Magnani and his colleagues examined the physical performance of more than 2,700 individuals. They were evaluated at ages 70, 74, 78 and 82, then re-evaluated after four years, the study authors said.

Over four years, all participants had a decline in physical performance. But people with atrial fibrillation had a significantly greater decline, the study found.

Specifically, they fared worse on tests of balance, grip strength, how far they could walk in two minutes and the time needed to walk 400 meters — 437 yards. Overall, it took those with atrial fibrillation 20 seconds longer to cover the distance than those without the condition, the researchers said.

“Atrial fibrillation is more than a heart rhythm problem, but seems to be a systemic problem with important consequences in aging,” Magnani said.

When older adults start to slow down or become frail, they have an increased risk of a range of problems, Magnani said. That may result in a fall or fracture. As a result, people may lose their independence, have a decline in quality of life, end up in a long-term care facility, or die, he said.

Atrial fibrillation is among the most common heart rhythm irregularities, said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The findings in this study “suggest that atrial fibrillation may contribute to age-related declines in physical performance,” said Fonarow, who was not involved with the research. “Identifying effective strategies to prevent and treat atrial fibrillation in older adults are needed,” he said.

The typical treatment for atrial fibrillation is blood thinners to prevent strokes, Magnani said. “This study suggests that exercise and preserving physical performance may also be beneficial for older adults with atrial fibrillation,” he said.

More information

To learn more about atrial fibrillation, visit the American Heart Association.

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Sugary Drinks, ‘Bad’ Carbs Tied to Breast, Prostate Cancers

By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) — People who consume a lot of processed carbohydrates — think snack foods and sweets — and sugary drinks may face heightened risks of breast and prostate cancers, a new study suggests.

Researchers said the study, reported Tuesday at the American Society for Nutrition annual meeting in San Diego, does not prove that “bad” carbs cause cancer.

But given that breast and prostate cancers are two of the most common cancers in the United States, the connection gives more reason for people to cut processed foods from their diets, said lead researcher Nour Makarem.

“The carbohydrate quality of your diet matters for a number of reasons,” said Makarem, a Ph.D. candidate in nutrition at New York University.

In general, health experts already recommend limiting sugary drinks and processed carbohydrates, and eating more fruits, vegetables, legumes, fiber-rich whole grains and “good” unsaturated fats.

So the new findings — considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal — add more weight to that advice, Makarem said.

She pointed, in particular, to the link her team found between sugar-sweetened drinks (both soda and fruit juice) and prostate cancer risk. Compared with men who never drank sugary beverages, those who had them a few times a week showed more than triple the risk of developing prostate cancer.

And that was with other factors — including obesity, smoking and other diet habits — taken into account, Makarem said.

Still, it is difficult to weed out the effects of particular diet habits on cancer risk, said Marji McCullough, strategic director of nutritional epidemiology for the American Cancer Society.

“Few dietary factors apart from alcohol and/or obesity have been consistently related to postmenopausal breast cancer and prostate cancer,” McCullough said.

The question of whether carbohydrate quality affects cancer risk — independent of obesity — is important, according to McCullough. But it’s also a “challenging” one to answer, she said.

The new findings are based on nearly 3,200 U.S. adults whose diet habits and cancer rates were tracked for more than 20 years. During that time, 565 people were diagnosed with cancer.

At first glance, higher carb intake was tied to a lower risk of breast cancer. But the picture changed when carb quality was considered, Makarem noted.

She said that women whose diets emphasized healthy carbs — vegetables, fruit, whole grains and legumes — were 67 percent less likely to develop breast cancer, compared to women who favored refined carbs. Refined carbs include many baked goods, white bread and white potatoes.

When it came to prostate cancer risk, men who regularly drank sugary juices or soda were more than three times as likely to develop disease versus men who steered clear of those drinks, the findings showed.

That does not prove sweet drinks directly contribute to prostate cancer, Makarem acknowledged. Still, she said, many studies have implicated the beverages in the risks of obesity and type 2 diabetes — so there are other reasons to cut back.

“Plus,” Makarem said, “it’s an easy change to make in your diet.”

The American Beverage Association took issue with the findings.

“The authors of this study abstract acknowledge their findings do not show that beverages cause any disease,” the group said in a statement. “Moreover, the study was limited to one demographic group that is not reflective of the population of the United States.” (Most study participants were white.)

The beverage association also said that the American Cancer Society cites multiple potential risk factors for breast, prostate and colon cancer, so singling out diet is difficult. The group also said that because the study hasn’t been published in a peer-reviewed journal, “very few study details are available” and it’s therefore tough to draw firm conclusions.

Sugary drinks weren’t the only diet factor that mattered, though, according to the researchers. Prostate cancer risk was also heightened among men whose diets were generally high in “glycemic load” — which, Makarem said, basically means they ate a lot of refined carbs.

The study also implicated “processed lunch foods,” including pizza, deli meats and burgers. Men who ate those foods four or more times a week were twice as likely to develop prostate cancer, compared to men who had them no more than once a week, the researchers found.

According to McCullough, it’s hard to know whether certain foods, per se, contribute to breast or prostate cancers — or whether, for example, it’s overall calorie intake and weight gain that are the true culprits.

But the bottom line, Makarem said, is that whole, “high-quality” foods are a generally healthier choice than processed ones.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more on diet and cancer risk.

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