Caffeine and kidney disease have long shared an unclear relationship. As caffeinated beverages can often be dehydrating and/or laden with added artificial sweeteners, they are typically avoided by those seeking to maintain a kidney-healthy diet.

A new study, however, may have something different to say about that. The National Health & Nutrition Examination Survey was recently used to examine the correlation between caffeine consumption and mortality among kidney patients.

Findings seemed to indicate that caffeine provided a protective effect on people with kidney disease and may even help them avoid premature death. Before you start loading up on Starbucks, however, please keep in mind that the findings were very preliminary and that kidney patients with other concomitant conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure or digestive ailments, should probably steer clear as caffeine can still aggravate those pre-existing symptoms.

Moderation with caffeinated beverages, as with all things in a CKD diet, should be exercised. This news however does seem to be a ray of light for coffee lovers who fear their kidney disease will come between them and the bean.

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