A recently released US study has delivered one of the clearest warnings yet about sugar‑sweetened beverages: drinking at least one per day may more than double the risk of developing gastric (stomach) cancer.

For WFPB followers, most of whom are well attuned to the long‑term consequences of dietary patterns, this research adds weight to ongoing concerns about ultra‑processed drinks and their metabolic impact.

This peer‑reviewed study, published in Gastro Hep Advances, analysed decades of data from more than 112,000 adults in the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow‑Up Study.

Researchers found that people who consumed at least one sugar‑sweetened beverage daily had a 2.45‑fold higher risk of gastric cancer compared with those who drank fewer than one per month. Among women, the risk climbed even higher—to a 3.04‑fold increase for daily consumers.

Gastric cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, yet diet‑related risk factors have remained poorly understood. Previous research has linked sugary beverages to colorectal, breast, and liver cancers, but evidence for stomach cancer has been limited until now.

Clear association found

This is the first US study to demonstrate a clear association between sugar‑sweetened beverage intake and gastric cancer risk, according to senior author Dr Andrew Chan of the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute.

But what counts as a sugar‑sweetened beverage? Researchers defined them as:

• Carbonated soft drinks
• Punch
• Lemonade
• Sports drinks

All of these are typically sweetened with fructose, which the study also found to be independently associated with higher gastric cancer incidence.

Interestingly, artificially sweetened beverages were not associated with increased gastric cancer risk after adjusting for other factors. These included low‑calorie carbonated drinks.

This does not mean diet drinks are harmless—other research has raised concerns about metabolic and gut‑health effects—but in this study, they did not show the same cancer association.

Because H. pylori infection is a major known risk factor for gastric cancer, researchers examined infection status in a subset of participants. They found no association between sugary drink consumption and H. pylori infection rates.

Strengths and limitations

The study’s strengths include:

• A very large sample size
• Detailed diet and lifestyle data collected over decades
• Ability to adjust for many confounding factors

Limitations include:

• Observational design (cannot prove causation)
• Limited H. pylori and family history data
• Predominantly white participants, limiting ethnic comparisons

For communities focused on whole‑food, fibre‑forward eating, this study reinforces a familiar message: liquid sugar is uniquely harmful. It delivers fructose rapidly, bypassing the natural fibre buffers found in fruit, and may contribute to chronic inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, and, now, possibly stomach cancer.

Given that 65% of U.S. adults consume at least one sugary drink daily, the public‑health implications are enormous.

Practical takeaways

• Replace sugary drinks with water, soda water, herbal teas, or whole‑fruit smoothies.
• Prioritise beverages with no added sugar and natural fibre.
• Be mindful of sports drinks—often marketed as “healthy”—which fall squarely into the high‑risk category.
• For those transitioning away from sugary beverages, consider unsweetened flavoured sparkling water or homemade fruit‑infused water.

This study adds to a growing body of evidence that dietary patterns, especially those involving ultra‑processed, high‑sugar beverages, may influence cancer risk more than previously understood. While more research is needed to confirm the mechanisms, but the overall message is clear: daily sugary drinks are not benign.