As a child with severe ear problems the carbonation in soda always gave me a rough time, so I moved away from Coke and Pepsi and discovered all of the delicious ways one can drink iced tea. Lets just say that I should probably be in the Guinness Book of World Records for amount of peach tea I have consumed. All of the fellow tea drinkers in this class will have heard the warnings from just about everyone about the danger of the ever painful kidney stones. According to This Article the primary cause of Kidney Stones is dehydration. The same article brings up the fact that some ingredients that go into making iced tea are the same chemicals that lead to formation of kidney stone development. Also, iced tea makes you more susceptible for kidney stones than hot tea just for the fact that people drink more iced tea than hot tea. So I decide to put together a little mechanism for a possible study that can be conducted.

Alternate Hypothesis: Drinking excessive amounts of iced tea leads to the formation of kidney stones.

Null Hypothesis: Drinking excessive amounts of iced tea does not lead to the formation of kidney stones.

Dependent Variable: The Formation of Kidney Stones

Independent Variable: Amount of Iced Tea consumed

Possible confounding variables: gender, age, and possible diets aligned with tea drinkers

When it comes to possible reverse causation one can argue that people who are susceptible to kidney stones drink more iced tea. Also chance is always a possibility.

Some other possible causes for the kidney stones are the type of sweetener used in the beverages that can possibly cause the stone development. This study concluded that sugar sweetened beverages may be more of a risk than the specific beverage. So multiple studies have been conducted and scientists can not strongly conclude what is causing the rise in kidney stones. So In reality just remember that everything in moderation is okay, just remember to drink a lot of water and you will be a lower risk of getting kidney stones. So my personal conclusion is that it doesn’t matter what beverage you drink when it comes to kidney stones.