Soda Pop Damages Your Cells' Telomeres

BarbaraHudson writes Those free soft drinks at your last start-up may come with a huge hidden price tag. The Toronto Sun reports that researchers at the University of California — San Francisco found study participants who drank pop daily had shorter telomeres — the protective units of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes in cells — in white blood cells. Short telomeres have been associated with chronic aging diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer. The researchers calculated daily consumption of a 20-ounce pop is associated with 4.6 years of additional biological aging. The effect on telomere length is comparable to that of smoking, they said. "This finding held regardless of age, race, income and education level," researcher Elissa Epel said in a press release.

Comments

What if it's a coincidence?

[RogueWarrior65]

What if it's not the soda but what people eat while drinking that soda? What if instead of the soda it's all that thai food hackers eat? Oh, and use of the word 'pop' only proves that they tested this in specific parts of the country.