Harvard: Soda Can Damage Your Knees

If you have bad knees you might want to lay off the soda. New research has found that men with osteoarthritis of the knee who drink sugary soft drinks fare worse than those who avoid the sweet stuff.

The study, presented at meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Washington, found the more soda men drink, the greater the risk their arthritis will progress and cause more pain.

And here’s the kicker: It’s not because soda drinkers pack on more pounds, causing greater wear and tear on their knees. The researchers were surprised to discover the link between arthritis and soft drinks could not solely be explained by excess weight from drinking too many sodas, said Bing Lu, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and biostatistician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Dr. Lu, who led the study, said he and his colleagues don’t know why high-calorie soft drinks worsen osteoarthritis in men — but not women. But the researchers speculate that several ingredients in sugary drinks damage bone health. Caffeine, for instance, can promote osteoporosis, phosphoric acid may interfere with calcium absorption, and high fructose corn syrup — a common sweetener in carbonated beverages — can also negatively affect bone. Dr. Lu added that sex hormones may also explain the gender differences.

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