PKD Patients, Beware of Caffeine

Caffeine or 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine found in coffee is said to be the reason why coffee drinkers could not live without having coffee for the day. It is said to have an addictive and stimulating effect.

I remember way back in high school and college when I was unaware I had PKD. I was really a consumer of both coffee and soda drinks most especially. Looking back, I think drinking caffeinated drinks sped up the growth of PKD cysts for me. Almost everyday in school, I drank soda beverage or softdrinks during break times. And breaking from the habit of gulping softdrinks is not easy as I often have cravings then.


But caffeine is a NO NO to PKD patients. It is because caffeine is believed to affect kidney and liver cysts' growth by stimulating cyclic AMP. Growth of cysts is believed to be also associated with increased kidney pain. And I am not taking about the excess calories even.

Caffeine indeed is not for all. Problem is, one my not be aware that what he or she is drinking has caffeine.

Below are some products and their corresponding caffeine content:

1. Softdrinks (12 ounce or 355 ml)

• 7 Up or Sprite, regular or diet - 0
• Coke Zero and Coke Classic - 35 mg
• Pepsi, regular or diet - 36-38 mg
• Mello Yello - 53 mg
• Mountain Dew, regular or diet - 54 mg
• Mug Root beer - 0
• Fanta - 0
• Mirinda - 0

2. Iced tea

• Nestea iced tea, 12 oz. - 26 mg
• Lipton Brisk Lemon iced tea , 12 oz. - 7 mg
• Black tea , 8 oz. - 40-120 mg
• Black tea decaffeinated, 8 oz. - 2-10 mg

3. Coffee

• Generic instant, 8oz. - 27-173 mg
• Generic instant or brewed decaffeinated, 8 oz. - 2-12 mg
• Generic brewed, 8 oz. - 95-200 mg
• Starbucks Vanilla Latte, 16 oz. - 150 mg
• Dunkin Donuts brewed, 16 oz. - 143-206 mg

4. Red Bull energy drink 250 ml - 76 mg
5. Hershey's Milk chocolate, 43 g - 9 mg
6. Hershey's Special dark Chocolate - 31 mg

I did not know before that decaffeinated drinks still have caffeine. It is not only coffee that has caffeine. Even if the other softdrinks have no caffeine, it does not mean that we should liberally take in these drinks.

So PKD patients most especially, aside from avoiding these "yummy" drinks and food, please don't offer them to your children. Keeping them away from your children may mean a longer "life" for their kidneys avoiding the speedy growth of the cysts and thus avoiding the speedy deterioration of the kidneys.

References:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/AN01211
http://www.overcaffeinated.org/database/soda-pop/mirinda-orange.php