How And Why Do You Get Kidney Stones
Concentrated urine can occur when the body is dehydrateda leading cause of kidney stones.3 Dehydration can occur when people do not drink enough water to help the kidneys remove waste from the blood.4
Other causes and risk factors of kidney stones include:5
- Past kidney stones.
- Conditions that causes your urine to contain high levels of cystine, oxalate, uric acid or calcium.
- Conditions that cause swelling or irritation in your bowel or your joints.
- Certain medicines, such as diuretics or calcium-based antacids.
Phosphoric Acid In Soda
Cola, specifically, has a lot of phosphoric acid in it. Other kinds of sodas usually do not have phosphoric acid.
In addition to sugar, phosphoric acid may be why soda can cause kidney stones.
Some studies have shown a higher risk of kidney stones, and harmful changes in urine in people who drink cola . However, others have shown a modest reduced risk.
Some articles have suggested that phosphoric acid dissolves kidney stones. This is not true. No food or supplement can dissolve kidney stones. However, nutrition can play an big role in prevention!
Bottom Line: Because phosphoric acid is harmful for people with kidney disease, this indicates it generally is not good for kidneys. I would steer clear of dark sodas for kidney stone prevention.
Can You Die From Kidney Stones
If left untreated, kidney stones can cause major health complications including hypertension and a reduced filtration rate , the process of removing enough wastes and fluids from the body to keep you healthy.5Kidney failure, although rare,6,7 is a complication of reduced filtration rate that can be life-threatening over time.5 Experts highly recommend prevention efforts to reduce or stop the formation of stones by treating other health conditions that cause the forming of stones such as high blood pressure.6
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Effects Of Caffeine Consumption On Kidney Stone Disease
Although the effects of caffeine on the kidney have been extensively studied, its influence in kidney stone disease seems to be overlooked. The evidence on whether caffeine prevents or promotes kidney stone disease has recently become more clear. Because an increase in fluid intake is widely recommended for the prevention of kidney stone formation, some previous studies during the past 2 decades focused on the relevance of the type of consumed beverages, including caffeinated beverages, in association with kidney stone incidence. In 1996, the first cohort data retrieved from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study in 45,298 male participants who had no history of kidney stones were reported . The findings showed that not all types of beverages affect kidney stone disease. Only caffeinated coffee and decaffeinated coffee and tea, but not caffeinated and noncaffeinated sodas, are associated with an 10% lower risk of kidney stone incidence .
In 1998, the Nurses Health Study , another cohort study in 81,083 female participants who had no history of kidney stones reported the association between beverage consumption and a lower risk of kidney stone disease . The data showed a 10%, 9%, and 8% lower risk of kidney stone formation in the participants who consumed caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and tea, respectively .
Soda Causes Kidney Stones
MYTH BUSTED: While we are tempted to let you believe this one as Soda is a nutrient empty, sugar-laden drink, we must inform you this is NOT the case. The fact is phosphoric acid is the culprit that is an ingredient in SOME sodas, typically colas, and pepper sodas such as Coke or Dr. Pepper and Pepsi. The other issue with Soda is that it is a diuretic because of the caffeine. This makes the salt content in your urine rise, which promotes kidney stones. So have a soda, but also follow it with an equal amount of water and you will decrease that concentrate. Alternatively, you could avoid soda altogether and replace it with healthier alternatives.
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Does Soda Cause Kidney Stones The Verdict
Any kind of sugar sweetened drink, including soda, can cause kidney stones. Diet cola may also cause kidney stones.
However, non-cola diet sodas may have some beneficial ingredients for kidney stones. These sodas can be consumed in moderation for people who have kidney stones. As always, most of your fluid should be water.
Sugary Drinks Tied To Kidney Stone Risk
By Kerry Grens, Reuters Health
4 Min Read
NEW YORK – Adults who drink at least one sugar-sweetened drink a day are slightly more likely to develop kidney stones than people who rarely imbibe them, according to a new study.
While the recommendation for kidney stone prevention has been to drink a lot of fluids, the study suggests that its not just the amount of fluid but the type of drink that also matters.
Dr. Gary Curhan, the senior author of the study, said patients often ask for dietary advice to help prevent kidney stones.
While the recommendation has been to drink plenty of fluids, Curhan said, patients often ask, what should I drink? Theres a lot of lore out there.
To see whether the type of beverage might matter, Curhan, of the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Womens Hospital, and his colleagues collected data from three massive surveys of nearly 200,000 people.
The questionnaires surveyed participants every two to four years and asked about diet, lifestyle and health, including how much they drank certain beverages and whether they developed kidney stones.
None of the people in the study had kidney stones at the start.
They found that 159 out of every 100,000 people who drank a sugar-sweetened non-cola beverage, such as clear soda, less than once a week developed kidney stones, compared to 306 out of every 100,000 who drank soda daily.
Frequent punch drinkers also had an 18 percent higher chance of developing kidney stones.
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Is Diet Soda Bad For Health
Diet soda is also unhealthful. Diet soda contains artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame or saccharin.
Research conducted in 2018 supported the notion that soda is a risk factor for diabetes. The study also found that switching to diet soda does not lower the risk of developing diabetes. It may even be an independent risk factor.
Additionally,
CDC endorses sparkling water as an alternative to sugary drinks, such as soda. However, always make sure that the sparkling water does not contain sugar or other sweeteners.
Drinking carbonated water can help people stop consuming soda. Carbonated water does not have to be flavorless. Options are available that contain added fruit flavors and minerals.
Always check the label and choose the varieties that do not contain added sugars, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, or sodium.
Experts point out that the best choice for satisfying thirst is water.
Water is good for a persons overall health. It can help the body to:
- maintain a good temperature
Mistakes That Lead To Kidney Stones
2016-05-0524 April 2018
Kidney stone;season is nearly upon us, and you can reduce the likelihood of forming stones by avoiding these common mistakes.
1. Not Staying Hydrated
Dehydration is the most common cause of kidney stones and is easily preventable. In the summertime, its recommended adults get 2-3 liters of water a day even if youre not prone to developing stones. A lot of my patients arent used to drinking that much fluid in the day, and it can take a little work to get in the habit, says Dr. Daniel Yelfimov.; I recommend buying a quality, 20-ounce beverage container and carrying it with them everywhere they go, drinking from it throughout the day, and gradually work up to filling it three times a day.
2.;Hydrating the Wrong Way
Because hydration is so important, how you stay hydrated is equally important. When the weather heats up, people often reach for sports drinks or tea to replenish or refresh themselves, but those liquids can work against you when it comes to forming kidney stones.; Most sports drinks have a lot of sodium added, so theyre basically kidney stones in a cup, says Dr. Kenneth Stallman.
Instead, opt for plain water, green tea, lemonade, or limeade.; Because citrate is a natural inhibitor of kidney stones and many people need more citrate in their diet, lemonade is a good choice the real kind made with fresh lemons or powered mixes that list citric acid as a primary ingredient, adds Dr. LeRoy Jones.
3.;Eating Out / High Sodium Intake
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Why Use Baking Soda For Kidney Stones
Regular intake of baking soda supplements in powder or tablets decrease the uric acids and cystine present in the urine to effectively prevent the kidney stones. The kidney stones are crystallized acids that usually get filtered through the kidney and are dismissed by the body through urine.
However, at, these acid crystals grow in large, they fail to come as they get stuck in the urethra and cause renal failure. The baking soda alkalizes the urine to dissolve calcium oxalates or uric acid stones, that block the narrow renal tubes connecting the bladder and the kidney.
Also, the sodium bicarbonate helps to restore the average pH balance of the kidney to prevent the formation of kidney stones and promote its proper functioning
Might Be Related To Weight Gain
Scientists have found mixed results on whether drinking diet soda is associated with weight gain. Heres what we know.
One study in 749 older adults found that those who consumed diet soda regularly tended to have greater increases in belly fat over a 9-year period, compared with people who didnt regularly consume diet soda .
Another study including 2,126 people showed that drinking at least 1 soft drink per day was associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome. Also, but drinking diet soda was associated with increased belly fat .
On the other hand, some studies have found no association between diet soda or artificial sweeteners and body weight .
Furthermore, other studies have found that diet soda might actually lead to weight loss and decreased hunger, especially when people use it to replace sugar-sweetened beverages like soda .
Much more research is needed to explore how drinking diet soda might be related to body weight.
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Say No To That Diet Soda
An important new finding has been reported from the Nurses’ Health Study, which is a long term study that found that diets high in sodium were hard on the kidneys, and gave other information about heart disease, cancer risk factors, and the use of hormone treatments after menopause.
Now doctors conducting this study have reported that drinking a lot of sugar-free cola beverages or other carbonated soft drinks might have effects on health. Kidney health may be one of those things. Kidney function declined over two decades in women who drank several diet sodas a day, according to researchers from the prestigious Nurses’ Health Study. In fact, compared with women who did not drink diet soda, soda-drinking women had a 30% greater reduction in kidney function in 20 years. More than 3,000 women have participated in the study for 20 years or more; now the women’s median age is 67 years.
At the start of the study, all the women had healthy kidney function, according to Julie Lin, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Drinking one diet soda daily did not decrease kidney function more than normal. Drinking two or more diet sodas, though, appeared to cause problems.
With some 37 million Americans suffering from chronic kidney disease, it is a major public health problem. The study with the nurses will have to be confirmed by other studies. But in the meantime, water may be the best thing to drink.
The Effects Of Carbonated Beverages On Kidneys
Drinking soda or other carbonated beverages each day may be a recipe for high blood pressure, reduced kidney function and kidney stones. This setup for kidney disease happens through a number of actions that take place when you consume just two carbonated beverages a day for a long period of time. You may think sugar-free diet soda may shield you from these adverse health effects, but youd be wrong. Be it a cola, non-cola, diet soda or other sugar-sweetened carbonated beverage, carbonated beverages can increase your risk of serious health issues.
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Does Soda Drinking Cause Kidney Stones
The belief that soda drinking is associated with increased kidney stone formation stems from a study of 1, Treatment & Prevention
my.clevelandclinic.org
Recommended to you based on whats popular FeedbackIts not cola itself that causes kidney stones,009 males randomized to either refraining from or continuing soft drinks over three years by Shushter and colleagues, contain phosphoric acid and have been associated with urinary changes that promote kidney stones, sodaThe combination of citric acid and sodium citrate is used to prevent gout or kidney stones, including household baking soda .
Low calcium may itself cause calcium stones , larger stones cause a lot of pain, larger stones cause a lot of pain, Some studies find that soda can cause kidney stones so you may be wondering how diet soda may prevent kidney stones, and sodacan stress out the kidneys and lead to the development of kidney stones due to higher calcium levels in the urine, all risk factors for chronic kidney disease, but an ingredient in cola called phosphoric acid that can lead to an increased risk of kidney stone formation, While soda may not solely be the cause of the stonesSmall kidney stones can pass the urinary tract, in particular, so, but an ingredient in cola called phosphoric acid that can lead to an increased risk of kidney stone formation
Im Concerned About My Alcohol Use: What Should I Do
Even if your alcohol use is not affecting your renal system, and even if you are not misusing alcohol, alcohol can still have a negative impact on your health and overall life.6 If youre concerned about your alcohol use, there are a variety of resources available for you to utilize. American Addiction Centers offers a free 24/7 helpline for those wondering about alcohol use disorder, the stages of alcohol use disorder, treatment options for alcohol use disorder, and more. Call our admissions navigators today at to find out more about what you can do to protect your health if youre worried about the impact that its having on your drinking.
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The Coke Treatment Is Common On The Net
Using the term Coke treatment of kidney stones yielded about 108,000 results, and by page 10 the treatment was still prominent. So cola drinks as a treatment is current.
A;claim in Internet lore is that phosphoric acid, an additive used in dark colas, when consumed in large quantities can facilitate a reaction within the kidney that will dissolve the calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate admixture that is the kidney stone. ;One finds variants of this claim in the discussions by patients.
As I pictured this poor older woman chugging a 6-pack of Coke 2-3 times per week with an asparagus chaser, I was curious to determine whether any potential scientific merit to the internet solution exists.
In short, the answer is No.
Allow me take you through some of the details.
Health Issues Associated With Drinking Outside Of Renal System
Even a small amount of alcohol can impact your health in a negative way and is associated with an increased risk for death and other health problems. Short-term risks of excessive alcohol use include injuries, such as motor vehicle crash injuries, alcohol poisoning, risky sexual behaviors, miscarriage, and stillbirth.2
In the long-term, drinking can cause high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease, digestive issues, cancer , weakening immune system, learning and memory issues, mental health problems, social problems, and alcohol use disorders .2
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How You Can Get Kidney Stones From Drinking Soda
Sodas are filled with unhealthy chemicals, including high levels of processed bleached sugar, phosphoric acid, caffeine, and high fructose corn syrup. These ingredients can be extremely harmful to your body, especially when consumed in large amounts.;
High fructose corn syrup, in particular, can metabolize into oxalate and increase excretion of uric acid and calcium. This combination of high-level oxalate, uric acid, and calcium encourage kidney stone formation. Phosphoric acid is another culprit found in the average soda. This chemical creates an acidic environment in your kidney tract, enabling kidney stones to form more easily. In addition, many sodas are high in caffeine which is a diuretic that encourages chronic dehydration, which is the most common risk factor for kidney stone formation.
Milk Causes Kidney Stones Because Of The Calcium
MYTH BUSTED: Milk Really does a body good. Calcium is your friend, so drink on. The fact is one-way kidney stones are actually caused is a LACK of calcium. You should have a glass of milk at least once a day or yogurt. Try to also consume more magnesium as this binds oxalate which will help in kidney stone prevention. And no kids, this isnt an excuse to have chocolate milk for dinner, but thanks for playing.
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