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Strong Evidence Links Soft Drink Consumption To Obesity, Diabetes
The case against swigging soda just got stronger. A large systematic review reveals clear associations between consumption of nondiet soft drinks and increased calorie intake and body weight.

Full-calorie soft drinks are also linked with reduced intake of milk and fruit and increased risk of type 2 diabetes. “Recommendations to reduce population soft drink consumption are strongly supported by the available science,” concludes the review of 88 studies.

The American Beverage Association, however, presents a different view on its Web site. “It is not feasible to blame any one food product or beverage as being a sole contributor to obesity …. No science supports such a claim.”

Carbonated soft drinks are the single largest source of calories in the American diet, according to a 2005 report called “Liquid Candy,” produced by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Companies annually manufacture enough soda pop to provide more than 52 gallons to every man, woman and child in the United States.

“Nobody claims there is a single cause to the obesity problem, but the existing science certainly puts soft drinks in the list of leading contributors,” said review co-author Kelly Brownell, Ph.D. He is director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. Source

The first urine test to detect insulin doping in athletes
Science Daily — Scientists in Germany are reporting development of a urine test that finally can identify athletes who misuse certain kinds of insulin in an illicit attempt to enhance performance.

Mario Thevis and colleagues say that amateur and elite athletes reportedly have used long-acting, as well as rapid-acting, forms of insulin to gain an edge — although insulin doping’s actual ability to enhance performance remains uncertain.

Their article, scheduled for the April 1 edition of ACS’ Analytical Chemistry, a semi-monthly journal, states that scientists had not attempted to develop such a test in the past because of the presumption that it was impossible to detect insulin’s degradation products, the compounds formed as the body breaks down insulin.

Using urine samples from volunteers, including athletes with diabetes, the scientists were able to identify degradation products from Lantus insulin, one commonly used form of insulin. The test could not identify surreptitious use of two other forms of long-duration insulin, but the study uncovered clues that toward that goal. Source (H/T: Diabetes Blog)

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Resources:
dLife; About Diabetes.com; American Diabetes Association

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Diabetes; Health News