When it’s really hot and you’re super-thirsty, it might be tempting to reach for a soda pop. But that’s one of the worst ways to hydrate—and might not be doing your kidneys any good either.
In a recent four-week animal study, mildly dehydrated rats that drank water with glucose and fructose—the types of sugars in soda—became more dehydrated and showed signs of kidney damage. Rats that drank plain water or water sweetened with stevia (a noncaloric plant-based sugar substitute) were fine. The glucose-fructose water, it turns out, stimulated oxidative and inflammatory processes and increased vasopressin, a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland that, in excess, harms kidneys.
It’s an animal study, to be sure, but the researchers believe that it has meaning for us humans. “Our studies raise serious concerns for the common practice…to drink soft drinks as a means to quench thirst following an episode of dehydration,” they write.
You already know what’s best for hydration—water. If you like soda, one that’s sweetened with stevia might be a good second choice.