Salt and diet soft drinks 'cause kidney damage'
A high salt intake has long been linked with an increase in the chances of a person developing heart disease, whereas numerous studies have made associations between soft drinks and diabetes.
However, no study has so far linked intake of the two substances with one particular condition, until now.
New US research has claimed that people who have elevated salt levels and those who regularly consume the 'diet' and 'light' versions of soft drinks are rapidly increasing their chances of developing kidney disease.
Experts at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, recently conducted a study which measured the effects that these substances have on the organs and discovered that the kidney is particularly susceptible to harm.
In two papers being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's annual meeting in San Diego, California, experts from the facility tell those with affordable health insurance that artificial sweeteners play a large role in the decline of kidney function.
Drs Julie Lin and Gary Curhan, from the hospital, studied more than 3,000 women participating in the Nurses' Health Study before drawing the conclusions.
"There are currently limited data on the role of diet in kidney disease. 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," Dr Lin explained.
She added that the first study, entitled Associations of Diet with Kidney Function Decline, examined the influence of individual dietary nutrients on kidney function decline over 11 years.
Dr Lin told private healthcare holders 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".
Meanwhile, the second study, entitled Associations of Sweetened Beverages with Kidney Function Decline, looked at the influence of sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages on kidney function decline in the same group of Nurses' Health Study participants.
The experts found that there was similar effect on kidney function to that of elevated salt levels, despite taking into account age, caloric intake, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cigarette smoking, physical activity and cardiovascular disease.
"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," Dr Lin explained.
By James McCann
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