Diet Soda May Affect Kidney Function
That Diet Soda Habit Might Be Killing Your Kidneys
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If you think you're doing yourself a favor by drinking diet soda instead of the real deal, think again. It's true you may be protecting your waistline from empty calories, but new research suggests you may be beating up your kidneys instead.
Over the weekend, researchers from the Nurses' Health Study in Boston released findings that indicate women who drink two or more diet sodas a day experienced a 30 percent drop in kidney function over the course of a two decades long study. More than 3,000 women participated in the study, the median age being 67. Lead researcher Julie Lin, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, says the outcomes were especially startling because the women surveyed all had health kidney function at the start of the research.
After critically analyzing the beverage intake of study participants, researchers found those who drank two or more diet sodas daily had a significant dip in the kidneys' glomerular filtration rate, which measures kidney function. Natural aging generally results in a decreased filtration rate of about 1 mL per minute per year after age 40. In contrast, the rate of those who consumed diet soda significantly decreased by 3mL per minute per year. The study showed no link between decreased kidney function and other beverages or any decreased function in women who had less than two diet sodas a day.
This doesn't mean your kidneys are safe, however, if you opt for regular sodas. A study published earlier this year in PLoS ONE, a journal of the Public Library of Science, showed that women drinking two or more cans of regular soda a day are nearly twice as likely to suffer from early signs of kidney disease as non-soda drinkers. Researchers don't understand the cause for certain but suspect it has to do with the intake of large amounts of high fructose corn syrup.
With some 26 million Americans suffering from chronic kidney disease, it's obviously become a national health problem. While studies to date on the relationship between kidney function and soda (diet or regular) have been small, they add more fuel to the fire for cutting soda intake, even if you're a diet drinker. When it comes to your health, water is always the best beverage.
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vitasandi 09:19:51 AM Nov 06 2009
I can imagine that many people think this study is just another scare tactic about diet soda's and lots of other things that aren't healthy for you. However, several years ago a research team at the University of London looked at 4 common food additives and their effects on brain cells. What they discovered was ground breaking and shocking. One of the food additives they looked at was aspartame (sweet and low, equal, etc). When they added this to a culture of brain cells in the concentration you would normally find in one diet soda, they found it stopped dendrite formation, ie the brain cell stopped growing, Then they tested it with another additive (a yellow dye common in all processed foods and drinks) again in the same concentration you would have in a drink or twinkie, and this time the two together killed the brain cells. This report has been out for several years but I am positive most have never heard this information. I am a scientist and the methods they used were not
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PlanXan2 02:46:42 AM Nov 06 2009
Another flawed study somehow. I've been drinking 6-8 diet sodas for 30 years now, and have perfectly healthy kidney function according to my last full physical a few months ago. Explain that.
Monoblocks05 02:22:03 AM Nov 06 2009
So sugared soda pop is bad for your kidneys because of the high fructose levels. And diet pop is bad for your kidneys because of the phony sugars. It's enough to make one turn to the hard stuff...except that's bad for your liver. Heck, even plain old water isn't 'safe' anymore, not with the smattering of reports of unchecked bacteria contamination and the like.If it's not one thing it's another. Face it...we're ALL gonna die at some point; there's not changing that. Make your piece with this reality and just ENJOY life. Besides, when the Big One hits who's really going to care anyways?
MaximusReps 01:31:58 AM Nov 06 2009
I will be 60 years old this coming Dec. 30th and have been a Type 1 Insuling Dependent Diabetic for 48 years.I have been drinking diet soda for all these 48 years with no kidney problems whatsoever.I exercise (intense), eat well (nutritionally), etc., so I have lived a very active, healthy lifestyle.I agree with one of the posts about this being an alarmist statement.Who else to trust but a real person who shuts down these ridiculous "studies".I neglected to mention I'm 5'7" tall, weight 170 lbs. and have a bodyfat percentage of 10%.The better information to provide, bluntly, to all individuals is to GOYA - Get Off Your Ass - and start doing those things that will prevent disease and quit blaming asinine studies that only serve to frighten people.As for the person who has kidney pains due to artiificial sweetners, again, give me a screwing break. Some may have allergic reactions to certain things, but you've got to get a hold of reality.Drink a lot of water, good whole foods, vegetable
TuDiva 01:27:21 AM Nov 06 2009
Man made chemicals that we are told are safe to consume are hardly EVER safe! The FDA will approve anything to make $ and they rely heavily upon drones (like some of the ones listed above) to continue to walk in ignorance. Most people don't research instead just go by what is told to us. Do your homework! I completely believe this to be true! Diet soda has NO nutritional value and sweetners are proven to cause cancer but I hope you aren't relying on the FDA to educate u about that!
Twztdfrk602 01:02:06 AM Nov 06 2009
you people with your diet soda , get a life drink real soda you ******
Imafroghog 11:30:36 PM Nov 05 2009
If this was true I would have been dead 20 years ago!
