Sugary Sodas, Fruit Punches May Raise Kidney Stone Risk: Study

It's important to stay hydrated, but water may be your best choice, experts say

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- Drinking large amounts of sugary sodas and fruit drinks might raise your odds for painful kidney stones, a new study finds.

Although drinking extra fluids usually helps prevent stones from forming, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston warn that beverages may come with varying risks or benefits. Coffee, tea and orange juice, for example, are associated with a lower risk of kidney stone formation.

On the other hand, "we found that higher consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks was associated with a higher incidence of kidney stones," study senior author Dr. Gary Curhan, a physician in the Channing Division of Network Medicine, said in a hospital news release.

The study involved more than 194,000 people tracked for more than eight years. The participants were questioned about their medical history, lifestyle and medications. Information on their diet also was collected every four years.

The researchers found that those who drank one or more servings of sugar-sweetened soda daily had a 23 percent higher risk for kidney stones than those who drank less than one serving per week. The study showed that this also was true for those who drank sugary beverages other than soda, such as fruit punch.

Two experts said there are already many health reasons to avoid sugary drinks.

"While there is no conclusive evidence to show that sugary drinks alone cause kidney stones, other associations with the consumption of sugary beverages has been reported," said Dr. Michael Palese, associate professor of urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. "This includes diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity, which have also been linked to the formation of kidney stones."

Nancy Copperman is director of public health initiatives at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, N.Y. She stressed that, "adults need to consume 6 to 8 cups of fluid a day to maintain proper hydration" and help prevent kidney stones. Cutting sugar-sweetened beverages out of those fluids might also help ward off stones, she added.

So what is the healthiest way to stay hydrated? "In general, water is still the best hydrant and certainly, [for] kidney stone prevention, the preferred beverage," Palese said.

According to background information from the researchers, kidney stones will affect 20 percent of American men and 10 percent of American women at some point in their lives.

The study was published online May 15 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

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Fruit Diet: Get Fit on Fruit

Eat fruit and get fit? Sounds like a joke, right? Nope. There’s just too many benefits from fruit to ignore or exclude them from your diet.

People on a mission to lose weight will try almost anything. They can get pretty desperate.

If you scan the pages of any fitness or bodybuilding magazine, you’ll see a lot of sample diets from prominent fitness folks. They’re usually pretty cut and dry chicken, broccoli, and occasional brown rice diets. Blah. Blah. Blah.

You'll hardly ever see bodybuilders wolfin’ down fruit smoothies. Ever see a muscle building ad with a ripped lady eating a handful of grapes? Nope. For a long time, I didn’t understand. I mean, fruit is healthy, right? Why don’t the hardcore fitness mags push them? In fact, they almost make fruit out to be an evil. They hardly discuss it at all.

Then it hit me: they can’t make money with fruit. They’ve got to push lots of supplements and protein. It’s not like they can profit from apples and oranges. Prepackaged edible widgets are all the rage.

In reality, fruit is a human’s natural food. We were made for it. Our bodies need it. It supplies many of the nutritional components we need to live. Not just survive – but live healthily. What’s the used of having a fit looking body if you’re an unhealthy cancer breeding ground? Doesn’t make very much sense, in my opinion.

Can you get lean and hard and eat fruit? The answer is, unequivocally, YES.

Vegan bodybuilder (non-competitive)

So why should fruit be a large part of your diet? Some top reasons are:

According to Medicine Net, fruits can help reduce the risk of many diseases. Cancer risk is much lower in individuals that eat ample fruits. Blood pressure can also be lowered by eating fruits, along with a healthy diet plan. Because fruits are nutritional powerhouses, they can even help reduce the risks and effects of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

Fruits do not contain many calories. Since they offer healthy energy, without too many calories, they make an excellent food to incorporate to a weight loss or weight management program. Not only are fruits low in calories, but they contain a generous amount of fiber, which promotes satiety. Another benefit for those on weight loss programs is that fruits consist of large amounts of water, adding bulk and volume to meals.

Fruits contain large amounts of various vitamins and minerals that make them a top priority in a healthy diet. The CDC reports that fruits are an excellent source of potassium, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C. Potassium, which helps maintain a healthy blood pressure, can be found in tomatoes and prunes. Vitamin A, which promotes healthy eyes and skin, is found in cantaloupe and pumpkin. A single serving of cantaloupe, for example, has 120% of the daily value for Vitamin A.

Vitamin C has many benefits, including a stronger immune system, and healthier gums and teeth. Kiwi, cantaloupe, oranges, mangoes, and strawberries are all good sources of Vitamin C.

I eat fruit with every meal. That’s five times a day for me. I’m still lean. I know of lots of folks who eat tons of fruit and have low body fat percentages. There’s a great discussion of people who live fit lifestyles who eat nothing but fruit. It’s an interesting read. Richard Blackman is incredibly fit and is a fruitarian for Pete’s sake. Not that I’m promoting that; I’m only trying to show that eating fruit won’t thwart your muscle building or weight loss efforts.

Oh, and the picture of the guy at the top of the page? He's a vegan bodybuilder named Kristopher Flannery. Nice, huh?

(Note: If you’re in pre competition mode, yes, you’ve got to be slightly stricter with your diet. Sugars, even natural ones, may slow progress if you’re trying to achieve extremely low body fat percentages. But, even if you decide to eliminate fruit during this period, it’s still only temporary – for a few weeks...tops. When normal, healthier eating is resumed, add fruit right back in.)

Fruit does not make you fat. If you carefully plan your diet, fruit can be easily incorporated, without compromising it. In fact, fruit in your diet with improve your health, your vitality, and boost your longevity. Plus, it tastes AWESOME. Isn’t it worth it?

View the original article here

Fruit diet: Fit on Fruit

Eat fruits and fit? Sounds like a joke, right? Nope. There's just too many advantages from fruit to ignore or exclude them from your diet.

People on a mission to lose weight, will try almost anything. They can get pretty desperate.

If you the pages of fitness or bodybuilding magazine scan, you'll see a bunch of sample diets of prominent fitness people. They are usually pretty cut and dry chicken, broccoli and occasional brown rice diets. Bla. Bla. Bla.

You hardly ever see bodybuilders wolfin' down fruit smoothies. Ever see a muscle building ad with a ripped Lady eat a handful of grapes? Nope. For a long time I did not understand. I mean, fruit is healthy, right? Why not the hardcore fitness mags push them? In fact, they make almost fruits to be an evil. They discuss all the barely.

Then it hit me: they can't make money with fruit. They got to be pushing many supplements and protein. It's not like they can take advantage of apples and oranges. Prepackaged edible widgets are all the rage.

In reality, the fruit is a natural human nutrition. We were made for it. Our bodies need. It delivers many of the nutritional components that we need to live. Not only survive – but healthy life. What is the use of having a fit body looking like you're a seedbeds unhealthy cancer? Makes a lot of sense, in my opinion.

You can get lean and hard and eat fruit? The answer is unequivocally, Yes.

Vegan bodybuilder (non-competitive)

Why fruit is therefore a big part of your diet? Some top reasons are:

According to Medicine Net, fruits can help reduce the risk of many diseases. Risk of cancer is much lower in individuals who eat large fruits. Blood pressure can also be reduced by eating fruits, along with a healthy diet plan. Because fruit nutrition powerhouses, they can even help reduce the risks and the impact of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke.

No fruit contain many calories. Since they offer healthy energy, without too many calories, they make an excellent food in a weight loss or weight management program. Not only are fruits low in calories, but they contain a generous amount of fibers, which promotes satiety. Another advantage for those on weight loss programs is that fruits consist of large quantities of water, bulk and volume to add to meals.

Fruits contain large quantities of various vitamins and minerals that make them a top priority in a healthy diet. The CDC reports that fruit is an excellent source of potassium, vitamin a, and vitamin c. potassium, which helps maintain a healthy blood pressure, can be found in tomatoes and plums. Vitamin A, which promotes healthy skin and eyes, is found in melon and pumpkin. A melon one portion, for example, has 120% of the daily value for vitamin a.

Vitamin c has many benefits, including a stronger immune system, and healthier gums and teeth. Kiwi, melon, oranges, mangoes, strawberries and are all good sources of vitamin c.

I eat vegetables with every meal. That's five times a day for me. I am still skinny. I know many people who eat tons of vegetables and have low body fat percentages. There is a great discussion of people who make a living out of fit lifestyles that nothing to eat but fruit. It is an interesting read. Richard Blackman incredibly suited for Pete's sake and is a fruitarian. Not that I'm promoting that; I try only to show that eating fruit your muscle building or weight loss efforts will not thwart it.

Oh, and the image of the man at the top of the page? He is a vegan bodybuilder Kristopher Flannery. Nice, huh?

(Note: If you are in pre competition mode, Yes, you have to be slightly tighter with your diet. Sugars, even natural ones, progress can slow down if you try to achieve extremely low body fat percentages. But even if you decide to eliminate fruit during this period, it is still only temporary – for a few weeks ... tops. When normal, healthier eating is resumed, adding fruit right back in.)

Fruit does not make you fat. If you carefully plan your diet, fruits can easily included, without prejudice to it. In fact, fruit in your diet with your health, your vitality, improve and boost your lifespan. Plus it tastes AWESOME. It's not worth?

View the original article here