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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Women undergoing treatment for breast cancer may have a particularly good reason to lay off the cola.
Research suggests chemotherapy and estrogen-blocking treatments for the disease lead to thinning bones typical in osteoporosis. And a new study shows drinking cola has the same effect.
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Catherine Van Poznak, M.D., a breast oncologist at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center in Ann Arbor who is investigating ways to maintain bone health during cancer treatment, explains chemotherapy may weaken the bones by altering bone mass. Estrogen-blocking treatments, which are necessary to treat breast cancer fueled by estrogen, naturally affect bone health because the bones depend on estrogen to remain strong.
The key for women undergoing these treatments, she reports, is to pay good attention to diet and exercise, which are known to help maintain healthy bones. And now that fellow investigators from Tufts University in Boston have found drinking cola ups bone loss, cutting out the cola could be a good place to start.
The Tufts investigators based their study on bone density measurements in 2,500 people, noting the more cola women drank, the lower their bone mineral densities were during the tests. The authors note colas contain phosphoric acid, which has been linked to bone loss.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: University of Michigan Health Minute, published online Oct. 3, 2006; American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, published online Oct. 6, 2006
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