Some social media outlets circulate a message warning against eating soft drinks for breakfast after fasting, claiming that this leads to kidney failure, so how true is that?

The message says, "I appeal to all people not to drink soft and colored drinks in the Ramadan at Iftar time, because the long day of fasting causes dry kidneys, and that eating cold soft drinks suddenly leads to kidney failure, so please do not drink them and avoid them completely and replace them with water, honey and drenched dried fruits such as figs, apricots and fresh juices, this is my message to you and your family members I write to you from my clinic in the Department of Nephrology and Transplantation..".

It is not clear whether the author of the letter, its source or date, and whether he is actually a doctor, as he claims.

Does drinking soft drinks after fasting cause kidney failure?

Answer: No, soft drinks do not affect the kidneys after fasting, and there is no relationship between the intake of these drinks and kidney failure.

Harm of soft drinks on the kidneys

Consumption of soft drinks has been linked to diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney stones, all of which are risk factors for chronic kidney disease.

Cola drinks contain phosphoric acid, which is linked to urinary system changes that promote kidney stones, according to a study, drinking two or more packets of cola - whether regular or sweetened - a day is associated with an increased risk of chronic kidney disease.

According to a study published in 2014, drinking too many sugar-free cola or other soft drinks may have effects on health, including the kidneys, and kidney function declined over two decades in women who drank many diet soft drinks daily.

Compared to women who did not drink diet soda, women who drank soda had a 30 percent greater reduction in kidney function in 20 years.

The study involved more than 3,20 women who had participated in the study for <> years or more, and initially all the women had healthy kidney function, according to Dr. Julie Lane, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Diet

Consuming one packet of diet soda a day did not reduce kidney function more than usual, yet drinking two or more diet soft drinks seems to cause problems.

Diet soda drinkers experienced a decrease in glomerular filtration rate (an important measure of kidney function), and with age the glomerular filtration rate tends to decrease slightly.

But in women who drank diet soda, the rate of decline was 3 times that of those who did not drink diet soft drinks.

The "glomerular filtration rate" (GFR) measures the amount of blood filtered by the kidneys every minute, measured in milliliters per minute (ml/minute), and the lower the glomerular filtration rate, the lower the level of kidney function, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Women who did not drink soft drinks experienced a decrease in glomerular filtration rate by about one milliliter per minute per year after the age of 40, but in women who consumed diet soda, the glomerular filtration rate decreased by 3 milliliters per minute per year, so water may be the best thing to drink.