Sugar, soft drinks negatively impact kidney function

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Consuming soft drinks and sugar can ultimately lead to poor kidney function, Counsel and Heal reported.

Two new studies published this week revealed how diets high in sugars and sugary-sweetened beverages can negatively impact kidney health.

In the first study, researchers from Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan examined nearly 8,000 university employees, all of whom had normal kidney function at the study’s onset.  The participants were divided into three groups: the first group of 3,579 people did not drink soft drinks, the second group of 3,055 people drank one soft drink a day, and the last group of 1,342 people had two soft drinks a day.

After an average 2.9 year follow-up, 301 individuals (8.4 percent) in the group that did not drink soda developed proteinuria, an indicator of kidney dysfunction.  In the group that consumed one soda a day, 272 individuals (8.9 percent) developed proteinuria, and in the group that consumed two soft drinks a day 144 individuals (10.7 percent) showed signs of proteinuria.  This meant that the study participants who drank two soft drinks a day had a much higher chance of developing kidney problems.

In a second study from Case Western Reserve University, researchers analyzed the effects of fructose consumption on kidney function in rats.  Overall, the rats who consumed fructose had kidneys much more sensitive to a protein that regulates salt.  Researchers believe this sensitivity leads to adverse health conditions, such as kidney failure, hypertension, obesity and more.

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