Sugary Drinks

This Common Drink Quietly Kills Your Kidneys

In All Health Watch, Diet and Nutrition, Featured Article, Health Warning

We all know soda is bad for us. Most of us figure that it does its damage by making us fat or raising our blood sugar.

But a new study shows that sugary soft drinks hurt you in another way: They can cause your kidneys to fail.

Chronic kidney disease is the ninth-leading cause of death in the U.S. About 13% of Americans have it. Many of them will eventually have to go on dialysis or have a kidney transplant.

But there aren’t enough kidneys to go around. So some patients will die while on the transplant waiting list. Researchers at Johns Hopkins recently discovered that soda may be a major cause of kidney disease.[i]

Dr. Casey Rebholz and colleagues looked at the health records of 3,003 men and women covering eight years. The subjects also kept track of their diets.[ii]

Those who drank the largest amount of sugared drinks were 61% more likely to develop chronic kidney disease (CKD) than those who drank the least.

Just Say No to Soda and Sugary Juices

Stay away from soda and sugar-added juices. And don’t think artificially sweetened diet drinks are the way to go… Chemical sweeteners are linked to a wide range of illnesses.

There are a number of good-tasting beverages that are also good for you. Switch to those. For instance:

  • Green tea. Green tea is a rich source of polyphenols, which have antioxidant properties.

    Green tea’s most potent polyphenol is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). It neutralizes disease-causing free radicals 100 times more effectively than vitamin C and 25 times more effectively than vitamin E.

    Many foods contain small amounts of EGCG. But a report published by the US Department of Agriculture shows that green tea has far more than any other source. One cup of green tea contains about 180 mg of EGCG.[iii]
  • Coffee. It’s a surprisingly healthy beverage. Studies have found that regular coffee consumption can reduce the risk of heart disease.[iv]

    It can also help prevent cognitive decline and prevent diabetes.[v] [vi]
  • Kombucha. This is a drink made from black or green tea. It is fizzy and slightly alcoholic. Rich in probiotics, it helps promote healthy gut bacteria. Studies show kombucha is linked with lower heart disease risk.[vii] It helps manage type 2 diabetes and has anti-cancer properties.[viii] [ix]

Replacing sugary drinks with healthy beverages is one of the best things you can do for your kidneys…and the rest of your body as well.

Related Articles

How Sugar Makes You Dumb
The Natural Solution for Sugar Cravings
How Many Sodas Does it Take to Get on the Fast Track to Diabetes?

References

[i]https://cjasn.asnjournals.org/content/14/1/49

[ii]https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-12-sugar-sweetened-beverage-pattern-linked-higher.html

[iii]US Department of Agriculture. USDA Database for the Flavonoids Content of Selected Foods Release 2.1. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Flav/Flav02-1.pdf

[iv]http://jaha.ahajournals.org/content/7/7/e007155

[v]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27678290

[vi] http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v69/n11/full/ejcn201598a.html

[vii]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10580172

[viii]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22591682

[ix]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18979556