Kidney stones affect between 7per cent and 15per cent of persons in North America, 5per cent to 9per cent of people in Europe, and 1per cent to 5per cent of people in Asia. Severe pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills and bloody urine are all common symptoms. However, kidney stones do more than just diminish the quality of life; they can also cause infections, swelling kidneys (hydronephrosis), renal insufficiency, and end-stage renal disease. Being an adult male, obesity, persistent diarrhoea, dehydration and having inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, or gout are all known risk factors for developing kidney stones.

Now, a study in Frontiers in Nutrition has shown for the first time that elevated consumption of added sugars should probably be added to the list of risk factors for kidney stones. Added sugars occur in many processed foods, but are especially abundant in sugar-sweetened sodas, fruit drinks, candy, ice cream, cakes, and cookies.