Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Soft drinks have never been the most nutritious dietary choice, but new research suggests that an unnecessary colouring ingredient may pose a cancer risk, even to people who consume an average amount of soda.
The chemical in question is a byproduct of caramel colour, a common ingredient that gives colas, root beers and iced teas their dark hue. During production of caramel colour type III and IV, a chemical known as 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) can be produced.
And here's where the problem lies, because 4-MEI has been classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, as a result of "equivocal evidence of carcinogenic activity in female rats", but no human studies.
http://www.sciencealert.com/a-popul...as-been-identified-as-a-potential-cancer-risk
The chemical in question is a byproduct of caramel colour, a common ingredient that gives colas, root beers and iced teas their dark hue. During production of caramel colour type III and IV, a chemical known as 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) can be produced.
And here's where the problem lies, because 4-MEI has been classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, as a result of "equivocal evidence of carcinogenic activity in female rats", but no human studies.
http://www.sciencealert.com/a-popul...as-been-identified-as-a-potential-cancer-risk
