Diet Soda Is Doing These 7 Awful Things To Your Body
Pop quiz! What’s the single biggest source of calories for Americans? White bread? Big Macs? Actually, try soda. The average American drinks about two cans of the stuff every day. “But I drink diet soda,” you say. “With no calories or sugar, it’s the perfect alternative for weight watchers…Right?”
Not so fast. Before you pop the top off the caramel-colored bubbly, know this: guzzling diet soda comes with its own set of side effects that may harm your health–from kickstarting kidney problems to adding inches to your waistline.
Unfortunately, diet soda is more in vogue than ever. Kids consume the stuff at more than double the rate of last decade, according to research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Among adults, consumption has grown almost 25 percent.
But knowing these 7 side effects of drinking diet soda may help you kick the can for good.
Kidney Problems
Here’s something you didn’t know about your diet soda: It might be bad for your kidneys. In an 11-year-long Harvard Medical School study of more than 3,000 women, researchers found that diet cola is associated with a two-fold increased risk for kidney decline. Kidney function started declining when women drank more than two sodas a day. Even more interesting: Since kidney decline was not associated with sugar-sweetened sodas, researchers suspect that the diet sweeteners are responsible.
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Diet Soda And Kidney Function: Industry Input
Asked to review the study findings, Maureen Storey, senior vice president of science policy for the American Beverage Association, says in a prepared statement: “It’s important to remember that this is an abstract presented at an annual meeting.” She notes that the research needs further scrutiny by researchers.
She acknowledges that kidney disease is serious but that diabetes and high blood pressure account for the majority of kidney disease cases, ”not consumption of diet soda.”
What Are Kidney Stones
Kidney stones are hardened deposits of salt and other minerals that do not properly filter through the kidneys. These deposits result in painful stones that need to be passed through the bladder. Roughly 11 percent of men and 7 percent of women suffer from kidney stones, and they tend to occur more than once.
Four types of stones can be passed, depending on the type of substance formed in the urinary tract. These include: calcium stones, struvite stones, uric acid stones, and cystine stones. Patients can be prone to certain types depending on underlying factors and certain conditions.
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Cola Drinks Are Not A Proven Remedy
Phosphoric Acid as a Stone Dissolver
Phosphoric acid, mixed with nitric acid, is used as a cleaner in the beer industry to remove beerstone from beer kegs. It is also used in home cleaning solutions, as an industrial etchant, and as a rust remover. This leads to the false impression that drinking acid phosphates in beverages will create conditions in the kidneys like those in the beer kegs.
In beer kegs, and when you clean your floor with cleaners, high concentrations of a strong acid are applied directly to the unwanted material.
You Cant Get Phosphoric Acid into the Urine
But when the small quantities of phosphoric acid found in dark colas are ingested, the first thing that will happen is that calcium and magnesium binding will occur in the gastrointestinal tract. By the time the remaining phosphoric acid is absorbed, additional buffering will occur in the blood and bone, so essentially neutral not acid phosphate will be delivered to site of the stone. In studies of a neutral phosphates effect on crystal inhibition and dissolution, no evidence of crystal dissolution has been noted.
Diet Soda And Kidneys: Study Details
The researchers evaluated 3,256 women already participating in the Nurses’ Health Study who had submitted dietary information, including their intake of sugary beverages — sugar-sweetened drinks, sugar-sweetened soda, and artificially sweetened soda. Sugar-sweetened drinks included soda, fruit juices, punch, and iced tea.
Information was also available on measures of kidney function. Their median age was 67.
Lin’s team looked at the cumulative average beverage intake, derived from food questionnaires completed in 1984, 1986, and 1990. The women replied whether they drank the beverages less than once a month, one to four times a month, two to six times weekly, once daily but less than twice, or twice a day or more often.
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Other Causes Of Kidney Disease
Kidney disease is commonly caused by diabetes or high blood pressure. Drinking carbonated beverages can contribute to excess weight, which is a risk factor for developing Type 2 — adult-onset — diabetes, and indirectly, kidney disease. The American Kidney Fund notes that you can inherit a type of kidney disease called polycystic kidney disease. Drinking soda may increase the risk of related diseases such as diabetes consult your doctor or nutritionist about the best diet plan for you.
References
Kidney Stones Feel Like A Stomachache
MYTH BUSTED: Kidney stones are more along the lines of a contraction, and some people it is more severe than labor, so go ask your mom if labor is just like a stomachache and send us her reaction. Trust us, the pain can range from a stabbing sensation to pain along the lines of menstrual cramps. Its definitely not a tummy ache.
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How Is A Urinary Tract Infection Diagnosed How Do Healthcare Providers Test For A Uti In Toddlers
After interviewing you about your childs history and performing a physical examination, the healthcare provider may order the following tests:
- Urine tests like the leukocyte esterase and a urine culture to test for the presence of bacteria or white blood cells.
- Blood tests looking for infection or kidney function.
- Ultrasound or CT of the kidneys and bladder.
- Voiding cystourethrogram , which evaluates the bladder and urethra to detect vesicoureteral reflux .
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Cranberry Juice Flushes Kidney Stones
MYTH BUSTED: Cranberry juice is great if you have a urinary tract infection or to prevent one. It solidifies your urine which flushes an infection out and prevents them. If you have a kidney stone, however, it makes the problem exponentially worse. Cranberry contains high amounts of oxalate, which causes kidney stones. So the next time you get kidney stone symptoms, pass on the cranberry if you want to pass those stones.
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Does Soda Cause Kidney Stones
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Is this true? Can drinking soda cause kidney stones? Are dark sodas worse than others? Read on to learn everything you need to know about soda and kidney stones. And, what you should drink to prevent kidney stones.
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Read This If Soda Is Your Go
Soda is everywhere, but health professionals say regularly drinking the sugary drinks can come with health risks.
Here are five health risks to keep in mind:
1. Kidney damage and kidney stones: Diet sodas are linked to a decrease in the glomerular filtration rate of the kidney, a key measure of the kidneys function. The GFR measures the amount of blood passing through glomeruli, which are clusters of kidney filters for waste in blood, according to the National Kidney Foundation. While the GFR naturally decreases with age, drinking more than two diet sodas per day can speed up this decrease.
And it isnt just diet sodas. Dr. Maria Khan, a nephrologist at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Ill., says kidney stones can form as a result of the fructose content in sweetened colas. The relative risk is 23% higher among those drinking one or more sugar-sweetened colas per day compared to non-users as described in this study, she says.
2. Diabetes: Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the body either produces no insulin, too little insulin or cannot properly use the insulin it produces. Insulin is essential to helping your body metabolize blood sugar. People who drink just one or two sugary drinks on a regular basis have a 26% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who dont, according to Harvards School of Public Health.
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Can Soda Harm The Kidneys
Soda consumption has been associated with risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity that lead to other chronic diseases. More so, drinking soda not only strains the kidneys but could and also lead to stroke, heart disease, and premature death. Besides its high sugar content, carbonated drinks, especially dark soda, contains Phosphoric Acid that can exacerbate your kidney condition. High amounts of phosphoric acid can lead to kidney damage and eventually kidney failure.
A study was conducted to examine the connection between carbonated beverages and chronic kidney disease. Drinking 2 or more colas each day was linked to an increased risk of CKD compared to non-cola carbonated drinks. These initial results suggest that soda drink consumption may raise the risk of CKD. Drinking soda among CKD patients is dangerous as certain sodas, especiallydark ones, contain phosphorus additives or inorganic phosphates.
Foods That Make Urine More Alkaline
Calcium Phosphate Stones are a type of kidney stones that people need to watch for. They occur when calcium in the urine combines with the mineral phosphorus, says WebMD.
The source also notes that people who are prone to this type of kidney stones, dont have to worry as much about limiting their intake of oxalate foods, but they do need to monitor how much they are eating of foods that make urine more alkaline. This includes: fresh fruit juices, vegetable juices, and molasses.
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What Causes Kidneys To Fail
Kidneys can become damaged from a physical injury or a disease like diabetes, high blood pressure, or other disorders. High blood pressure and diabetes are the two most common causes of kidney failure. Kidney failure does not happen overnight. It is the end result of a gradual loss of kidney function.
How Do The Carbonated Beverages Help In The Formation Of These Stones
Soda is made out of many chemicals including high levels of processed bleached sugar, caffeine, high fructose corn syrup, and phosphoric acid. These ingredients can be extremely harmful, especially when consumed in large amounts. High fructose corn syrup can metabolize into oxalate and increase the secretion of uric acid and combination. This encourages kidney stone formation. Phosphoric acid, on the other hand, creates an acidic environment in your kidney tract enabling kidney stones to form more easily.
Caffeine is a diuretic that encourages chronic dehydration which is the most common risk factor for kidney stone formation.
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Leads To Low Sodium Levels Or Brain Swelling Usual Intake Per Day Should Be Eight To 10 Glasses Overhydration Can Lead To Water Intoxication
With mercury levels rising, doctors maintain that staying hydrated was essential but overdoing it may not be the best road to take.
Recent research has indicated that overhydration or excess fluid accumulation can lead to dangerously low sodium levels in the blood or cause brain swelling, especially among the elderly, the doctors said.
K. K. Aggarwal, immediate past president, Indian Medical Association , said, Overhydration can lead to what is known as water intoxication. In this condition, the amount of salt and other electrolytes in the body become too diluted.
A person who drinks the normal amount of water has straw-coloured to transparent yellow urine. Although most people believe that clear urine is the healthiest sign of hydration, but urine with no pigmentation at all may be an indication that one is drinking too much water, he added.
One should normally intake eight to 10 glasses a day, the doctors said.
This varies depending on an individuals height, weight and exercise patterns. Drinking a lot of water or not having an effective mechanism to remove it from the body can cause water levels to build up. This in turn dilutes important substances in the blood. Endurance athletes, such as those who run marathons and triathlons, sometimes drink too much water before and during an event, he said.
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Soda And Your Urological Health
Drinking soda affects your urinary system. Its main function is to remove toxins from the body. Hydration from water is critical for this process. Soda drinkers generally dont drink enough water, and soda is not effective in keeping people hydrated.
In addition, a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health found that those who drank a soda every day had a 23 percent increase in the chance of forming kidney stones.
The link between drinking soda and developing kidney stones isnt exactly clear. Researchers do know that phosphorus acidifies urine. Phosphoric acid is a common ingredient in sodas, especially colas. One study cited by the American College of Physicians followed kidney stone patients. It found that those who agreed to stop drinking soda decreased their chance of developing further kidney stones by 15 percent.
These two studies emphasize the connection between soda, dehydration, and kidney stones.
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Skip Citrusy Or Caffeinated Sodas Irritate The Bladder
Sodas in general have been found to irritate the bladder in people with chronic bladder inflammation, and they could aggravate symptoms in someone with a bladder infection. Citrus-flavored sodas and caffeinated sodas are the culprits when it comes to worsening urinary tract infection symptoms. So, when youre struggling to overcome a bladder infection, stick to water or cranberry juice as your drink of choice.
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Effects Of Cola In People
How about real people, instead of crystals?
Cola Drinks Raise Stone Risk in Urine
Four subjects were asked to drink three quarts of a dark cola over the course of 48 hours. The researchers then compared the amounts of 3 urine constituents that are known to affect the likelihood of stone formation: magnesium , citrate and oxalate . In this study, the average 24-hr magnesium excretion decreased by 2.6 mg, the average citrate excretion decreased by 122 mg, and the average oxalate excretion increased by 8.6 mg. So in fact, in each of the three constituents, the effect of the cola was a worsening of stone risk.
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How Sweet Tea And Soda Affect The Bladder
Sweet tea and soda have a couple of things in common that can lead to urinary problems. First, they both cause frequent urination. Caffeine, which is present in both drinks, acts as a natural diuretic. The caffeine stimulates the bladder, so you use the restroom more often when you drink either of these two beverages. Studies show that women who drink large amounts of caffeine are 70 percent more likely to suffer from urinary incontinence.
Other potential concerns include:
- Tea tends to be acidic, which may cause irritation in the urinary tract.
- Carbonated drinks like soda irritate sensitive bladders.
- Both artificial and natural sugar can cause irritation in the bladder as well.
The biggest obstacle is that if you drink a lot of soda or sweet tea, then you are probably not drinking enough water. The human body consists mostly of water it makes up more than half of your body weight. It is necessary to transport oxygen in the blood, to support immune system functioning, to maintain proper body temperature, and to remove waste. In general, you should try to drink up to eight glasses of water daily for optimal health.
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Assessment Of Incident Kidney Stones
The primary end point was an incident kidney stone ac-companied by pain or hematuria. Individuals who reported a new kidney stone on a questionnaire were sent a supplementary questionnaire to determine the date of occurrence and symptoms. Medical records from 582 men in HPFS, 194 women in NHS I, and 858 women in NHS II confirmed the diagnosis in 95%, 96%, and 98% of the reports, respectively among those individuals whose medical records included a stone composition report, 86% of participants in the HPFS, 77% of participants in the NHS I, and 79% of participants in the NHS II cohort had a stone containing 50% of calcium .
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Does Drinking Carbonation Beverages Hurt Your Kidney
It doesnt affect them directly but the sugary beverage does increase your risk of kidney stones. One study has found out that drinking 2 or more carbonated beverages in a day resulted in kidney stones and it did not matter whether they are sugarless or not. People who drink soda regularly are at a 33% greater risk of developing kidney diseases.
The consumption of dark carbonated beverages makes you more vulnerable to stone than light citrus beverages. Additionally, consumers who drink beverages that contain high amounts of fructose or phosphoric acid are more prone to kidney failures.
Not just that but consuming large amounts of soda is linked with proteinuria or increased excretion of urine in the protein, which is an indicator of kidney dysfunction. It can lead to hypertension and diabetes which also causes kidney failure, reduced functions of the kidney and kidney stones. Other studies conducted in rats found that moderate fructose intake increases the kidneys protein sensitivity to a protein . Since kidneys regulate salt balance, it leads to increased salt reabsorption by cells in the kidney.
Can Diet Sodas Cause Kidney Stones
We cant often go out looking for veggies, fruits which is a mandatory part of the diet of a person who wants.
hair fall, kidney stones, and diabetes, and so on. This magic herb cures nearly.
In extreme circumstances dehydration may cause seizures, brain swelling, kidney stones and even diabetes.
treatment for dehydration. This can include: water, juice, clear broth, Popsicles, Jell-O,
Heres what you can look forward to when you put down the diet soda and cool down with an unsweetened iced tea instead. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Why trust us? Youve decided to.
Does diet soda cause strokes and dementia? Enter your email and well keep you on top of the latest nutrition research, supplement myths, and more. You may have seen very scary headlines in the past couple weeks, claiming that diet soda cau.
This will make it less likely that kidney stones will form. Calcium is not the enemy but it tends to get a bad rap! This is most likely due to its name and misunderstanding that calcium is the main cause in calcium-oxalate stones. A diet low in calcium actually increases your chances of developing kidney stones. Don’t reduce the calcium in your.
The most common type of stone is calcium oxalate. Some stones are made of uric acid. How do I know I have a stone? Kidney stones often cause severe back.
However, the best soda to fight stones is diet orange soda. “Diet orange soda.
HOW CAN I QUIT EATING.
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