Coloring of cola linked to cancer

The caramel coloring in  cola causes cancer in mice  and may cause cancer in humans as well, warn scientists. The chemical called 4-methylimidazole (4-Mel) causes colas to turn a rich brown color, but it's not related to caramel in any form. Although it's been known since 2007 to be carcinogenic, there's no federal rule to limit its use, reports Newsmax Health.

"There’s no reason why consumers should be exposed to an avoidable and unnecessary risk that can stem from coloring food brown," says Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D., toxicologist and executive director of Consumer Reports’ Food Safety & Sustainability Center. 

An avalanche of studies in the past decade have linked soft drinks to a wide variety of diseases including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, liver disease, osteoporosis, and lung problems. Studies add to the mountain of evidence, and indicate that even modest amounts of cola can have devastating health consequences.

If you haven't been convinced to quit drinking sodas — or at least to drastically reduce your consumption — here are a handful of recent studies that show sodas damage your health:

• Kidney damage. A Japanese study found that drinking two or more soft drinks a day increases the risk of proteinuria, an increase in the excretion of protein in urine that is a major sign of kidney dysfunction.

• Cardiovascular disease. A study at Harvard University found that even a single can a day of regular soda can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease by 19 percent. Diet sodas may even be worse on the heart: A study from the University of Miami found a daily can of diet soda increased the risk of heart attack and stroke by 61 percent.

• Eroding teeth. Drinking an excessive amount of  soda can cause damage to teeth that's similar to that caused by smoking crystal meth or crack cocaine. 

• Asthma and COPD. Australian researchers found that soft drinks increased the risk of both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), and the more cola a person drank, the more their risk increased.

• Endometrial cancer. A study funded by the National Cancer Institute found that the more sodas an older woman drank, the higher her risk for endometrial cancer. 

• Behavior problems in children. A study published in the Journal of Pediatrics found that the more sodas 5-year-olds drank, the more aggressive behavior they exhibited, including getting into fights and destroying other people's belongings.

Recent studies show that diet drinks cause more weight gain than sugar. They've also been linked to an increase of cancer.  

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