According to MSc.BS. CKI Tran Quoc Phong, Head of Urology Unit, An Binh Hospital, the impact of soft drinks on the kidneys mainly occurs indirectly through increasing the risk of obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, high blood pressure, increased uric acid and metabolic disorders. These are all factors related to chronic kidney disease.
Some soft drinks also contain a lot of fructose, caffeine, sodium or phosphate sugar. For people at risk of kidney stones, drinking a lot of sugary drinks can also replace filtered water, causing insufficient water intake and increasing the risk of stone formation.
It is not possible to assess the level of impact based only on the name of the drink. According to Dr. Phong, the impact depends on the amount of sugar, portion size, frequency of use and accompanying ingredients.
A large cup of milk tea can contain more sugar and energy than a can of soft drink. Meanwhile, some carbonated drinks like cola can contain caffeine and phosphoric acid. Fruit tea, sugared coffee, energy drinks or bottled juice can also contain more sugar even if they are not carbonated soft drinks.
There is currently no specific threshold for the number of cans of soft drinks per week that are identified as causing kidney damage. However, drinking soft drinks every day is considered a habit that should be restricted.
People should not use soft drinks as a daily water replenishment source. Instead, they should prioritize filtered water, sugar-free mineral water or sugar-free drinks.
You can flavor the water with lemon, orange, cucumber, or mint, but you should not add too much sugar.
In particular, people with heart failure, progressive kidney disease or having to limit the amount of fluid need to comply with the doctor's instructions, not mechanically applying the principle of "drinking as much water as possible".
