Brenden Sener
The effect of popular drinks on kidney stone formation and fragility
Matthews Hall
Kidney stones are very common and can significantly impact patient quality of life. Commonly ingested drinks including water, lemon water, Gatorade, coffee, milk, iced tea and apple juice can have variable effects on kidney stone formation and fragility.
The aim of this project was two-fold. The first was to determine if these commonly consumed beverages had an impact on calcium oxalate crystal formation on an agar plate over a 24-hour period. Secondly, to determine if these same drinks had an effect on artificial stone fragility after an exposure of ten days.
The results of this study showed that the higher the sodium, sugar, and calcium content of the beverage, the greater the calcium oxalate crystal formation and that these conditions would also cause the stones to be less fragile.
These findings could be useful in educating the public about how to prevent kidney stone formation.
Silver Medal
University Scholarship
Western University