Soft Drinks, Sugar May Negatively Affect Kidneys

Two new studies highlight the potential negative effects that soft drinks and sugar can have on kidney health. Results of these studies were presented at American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week.

In one study, researchers led by Ryohei Yamamoto, MD, PhD, of Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan, found that consuming at least two soft drinks per day is linked with proteinuria, which is a hallmark of kidney dysfunction. Among 3,579, 3,055, and 1,342 university employees with normal kidney function at the start of the study who reported that they drink zero, one, and two or more soft drinks per day, 301 (8.4%), 272 (8.9%), and 144 (10.7%) employees developed proteinuria during a median of 2.9 years of follow-up, respectively.

Another study, led by Agustin Gonzalez-Vicente, MS, a research associate at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and conducted in rats, found that moderate fructose intake increases the kidneys’ sensitivity to angiotensin II, a protein that regulates salt balance. This leads to increased salt reabsorption by kidney cells, a finding that may help explain why consuming high-fructose corn syrup as a sweetener may contribute to the epidemic of diabetes, obesity, kidney failure, and hypertension.

Source: American Society of Nephrology