HEALTH WATCH: Soda health threat remains high

By Dr Cory Couillard

Just about every week, it seems, a new study warns of the potential health risks of consuming soda and excess sugar.

Sugar and soda has been linked to obesity, high blood pressure, stroke, certain types of cancer, and now poor kidney function.

In one study this week, nearly 8 000 participants with normal kidney function were examined by researchers from Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine. The results of the study showed participants who drank two sodas per day had a much higher chance of developing proteinuria, an important laboratory indicator of kidney dysfunction and disease. 

In a second study, researchers from Case Western Reserve University analysed the effects of fructose consumption on kidney function in rats. They found fructose consumption affected kidney sensitivity to a protein that regulates salt in the body. This sensitivity helps to explain the complex inter-relationships between high blood pressure, heart attack, kidney failure and weight gain. 

Drinking one or more cans of soda a day is also an independent indicator of one’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes. One in every five is at an elevated risk of diabetes with as little as one can per day according to statistics published in the journal Diabetologia. 

Recent research published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation found men who drank one sugar-sweetened beverage per day had a 20 per cent higher risk of suffering a heart attack. 

Research has also linked eating processed sugar and drinking soda to pancreatic cancer, metabolic syndrome, gout and obesity. Drinking two sodas per week increases the risk of pancreatic cancer by 87 per cent according to the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

One soda per day increases one’s risk of metabolic syndrome by 44 per cent and a child’s risk of becoming obese by 60 per cent. Drinking two sodas per day increases the risk of gout by 85 per cent according to researchers at Boston University School of Medicine.

Soda often contains high amounts of caffeine, a leading cause of dehydration. Water makes up about 60 per cent of one’s body weight. Obesity has been shown to decrease the percentage of water in the body, sometimes to as low as 45 per cent. This affects one’s kidneys, heart and immune system.

Genetics was once classified as the primary cause of kidney failure, cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease but the findings of these studies demonstrate that it’s more related to the consumption of soda, sugar and other dietary habits.  

Dr Cory Couillard is an international health columnist working  in collaboration with the World Health Organization's goals of disease prevention and global health care education. Views do not necessarily reflect endorsement. 

Email: drcorycouillard@gmail.com