While calories from any food have the potential to increase the risk of obesity and other cardiometabolic diseases, 22 nutrition researchers agree that sugar-sweetened beverages play a unique role in chronic health problems. The disease risk increases even when the beverages are consumed within diets that do not result in weight gain.
Niya, 15-year-old female Keeshond, was battling urinary tract infections and incontinence, and her medication was decreasing her appetite, so her primary veterinarian in Maryland thought that help from a specialist was warranted. Around that time, Niya’s owners, Debora and Chris Luther, were planning a trip to California to see family. The Luthers were very familiar with the UC Davis veterinary hospital—Debora graduated from UC Davis in 1977, and Chris grew up in Davis with his mother Linda having worked at the university for many years—so they decided to bring Niya with them to California and have her examined by specialists at UC Davis.
