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Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer

thenightly.com.au

21–30 of 32 posts

Re: Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer

#21

I wouldn't draw any medical conclusions from that paper, it's really not looking at anything like that. And the title of this article does not represent the paper at all. They did some experiments to find pathways in the cells that play a role in leukemia. And they found that taurine receptors appear to be important in some way. So this is an interesting starting point, but not anything like what is suggested in the…

The researchers themselves seem to disagree with your comment:

Researchers from the University of Rochester warned consumers to be cautious, especially as taurine is commonly used in energy drinks and dietary supplements.

... "The study states, “Since taurine is a common ingredient in energy drinks... our work suggests that it may be of interest to carefully consider the risks and benefits of supplemental taurine in leukaemia patients,”.

Re: Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer

#22
post #6

From the title, I read this expecting another lame observational study which I would probably distrust on the basis that it doesn't show anything causal. It's not that! Rather, if I understand it, they (1) took mice and introduced leukemia cells and (2) took human leukemia cell lines. In both cases, they found biomarkers related to leukemia growth. (I welcome corrections to that understanding from experts!) Personall…

Taurine deficiency has been claimed to be a driver of aging [1]. The claim from the news article about it possibly being related to cancer seems like it needs a much stronger justification. [1] https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn9257

How are those two things related? Both can be true, neither can be true, either can be true - there is no relationship.

Re: Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer

#23

>The research team discovered that leukaemia cells feed on taurine through a process called glycolysis, in which cells break down sugar to produce energy. >This process helps cancer cells multiply more rapidly, worsening the disease. If I’m reading this right, it doesn’t cause cancer, but if you already have cancer it may make it spread faster.

The outcome is the same.

Not if you don’t have cancer.

Re: Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer

#24
post #21

I wouldn't draw any medical conclusions from that paper, it's really not looking at anything like that. And the title of this article does not represent the paper at all. They did some experiments to find pathways in the cells that play a role in leukemia. And they found that taurine receptors appear to be important in some way. So this is an interesting starting point, but not anything like what is suggested in the…

The researchers themselves seem to disagree with your comment: Researchers from the University of Rochester warned consumers to be cautious, especially as taurine is commonly used in energy drinks and dietary supplements. ... "The study states, “Since taurine is a common ingredient in energy drinks... our work suggests that it may be of interest to carefully consider the risks and benefits of supplemental taurine in…

[deleted]

Re: Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer

#25
post #2

It appears that the trial is still ongoing: https://www.cancer.gov/research/participate/clinical-trials-... The theory is that the taurine added to the drinks is feeding gut bacteria that then produce hydrogen sulfide that damages the intestinal lining.

It also raises a question for me could Taurine in an energy drink be different than taurine as a supplement?

Re: Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer

#26
post #2

It appears that the trial is still ongoing: https://www.cancer.gov/research/participate/clinical-trials-... The theory is that the taurine added to the drinks is feeding gut bacteria that then produce hydrogen sulfide that damages the intestinal lining.

> hydrogen sulfide

Interesting because NAC also has been studied to possibly accelerate cancer growth if you already have it, but it helps with prevention if you don't have it. And it has sulfur and also produces hydrogen sulfide in the body.

Re: Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer

#27
post #10
post #6

From the title, I read this expecting another lame observational study which I would probably distrust on the basis that it doesn't show anything causal. It's not that! Rather, if I understand it, they (1) took mice and introduced leukemia cells and (2) took human leukemia cell lines. In both cases, they found biomarkers related to leukemia growth. (I welcome corrections to that understanding from experts!) Personall…

But does it show taurine is specifically worse than other amino acids? Otherwise it's just showing that cancer can feed on protein which is ... unsurprising? Might as well say "tofu causes cancer" or "meat causes cancer" or "milk causes cancer"

"Aiding protein synthesis causes cancer"

Re: Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer

#28
post #16

Don't completely discard the danger but keep in mind ANY supplement that improves cell efficiency also helps cancer, with very rare exception. 1000x times more worried about micro-plastics and forever-chemicals now saturating every water source on the planet, that cannot possibly end well for cancer rates and other diseases.

Yeah PFAS are our generation's equivalent of the lead water pipes Romans used

Re: Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer

#29

Important point: The biomedical research that made this sort of study possible where it wasn’t before is under attack by RFK and DOGE. The study used scRNA-seq, CRISPR, and leukemia enriched stem cells to help identify a potential causal pathway. All these technologies were developed with NIH funding. The detailed, quantifiable research shown in this study relied on these technologies and is superior to epidemiology…

So we're going to have fewer sky is falling junk studies to hear about?

Re: Energy drinks linked to rise in colorectal and blood cancer

#30
post #21

I wouldn't draw any medical conclusions from that paper, it's really not looking at anything like that. And the title of this article does not represent the paper at all. They did some experiments to find pathways in the cells that play a role in leukemia. And they found that taurine receptors appear to be important in some way. So this is an interesting starting point, but not anything like what is suggested in the…

The researchers themselves seem to disagree with your comment: Researchers from the University of Rochester warned consumers to be cautious, especially as taurine is commonly used in energy drinks and dietary supplements. ... "The study states, “Since taurine is a common ingredient in energy drinks... our work suggests that it may be of interest to carefully consider the risks and benefits of supplemental taurine in…

Your quote suggests that ingesting supplemental taurine may/may not increase risks specifically for leukemia patients. The headline asserts outright that the taurine content of energy drinks is a causal factor in colorectal cancers.

I fail to see how that contradicts the comment to which you were replying, and I agree that the headline doesn’t seem to follow from the text.

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