Too much diet soda can damage your kidney

The research suggests that higher sodium and artificially sweetened soda intake are associated with greater rate of decline in kidney function. Photo: R. Ravindran.

Too much diet soda can lead to decline in kidney function among women, say researchers.

The team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital has found that individuals consuming a diet high in sodium or artificially sweetened drinks might be damaging their kidney.

“There are currently limited data on the role of diet in kidney disease,” said Dr Julie Lin, MPH, FASN of Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“While more study is needed, our research suggests that higher sodium and artificially sweetened soda intake are associated with greater rate of decline in kidney function.” Lin added.

In the study involving more than 3,000 women found that “in women with well-preserved kidney function, higher dietary sodium intake was associated with greater kidney function decline, which is consistent with experimental animal data that high sodium intake promotes progressive kidney decline.” Another study also conducted by Dr. Lin and Dr. Gary Curhan examined the influence of sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages on kidney function decline, in the same group of Nurses’ Health Study participants.

This investigation reported “a significant two-fold increased odds, between two or more servings per day of artificially sweetened soda and faster kidney function decline; no relation between sugar-sweetened beverages and kidney function decline was noted” said Dr. Lin. The findings were presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s annual meeting in San Diego, California.