Toward the end of the day, you might be tempted to crack open a can of soda for a sweet pick-me-up. But before you do, consider that new research indicates soft drinks can have a detrimental effect on kidney health.
Researchers led by Ryohei Yamamoto, M.D., Ph.D., at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, in Japan, found consuming at least two soft drinks per day is linked with proteinuria—or increased excretion of protein in the urine, which is a hallmark of kidney dysfunction.
Among university employees with normal kidney function at the start of the study who reported that they drink zero, one, or two-or-more soft drinks per day, 8.4 percent, 8.9 percent, and 10.7 percent of employees developed proteinuria during a median of 2.9 years of follow-up, respectively.
Results of the study were presented at the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week 2013, in early November.
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