When I speak about artificial sweeteners, most people seem to know they are not "healthful", but few know why.
A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (June 30, 2010 - read the abstract here) gives us some insight as to the danger of artificial sweeteners - on newborn babies. Now, before you dismiss this blog post (perhaps you are not pregnant), remember that if artificial sweeteners have ill effects on babies in the womb, they will also have them elsewhere - although it may take longer, or be more difficult, to detect in adults.
This study, conducted in the Denmark, followed almost 60,000 pregnant women, accessing their intake of soft drinks containing artificial sweeteners, sugar-sweetened soft drinks and preterm delivery.
Researchers found women who consumed one or more servings of artificially sweetened soft drinks per day were 38% more likely to give birth prematurely compared to women who consumed no artificially sweetened soft drinks. Women who consumed 4 or more artificially sweetened soft drinks per day were 78% more likely to have a premature birth vs. women who did not consume said soft drinks. (There was no association between sugar-sweetened soft drinks and preterm births.)
In the words of the researchers: "Daily intake of artificially sweetened soft drinks may increase the risk of preterm delivery."
If you know anyone who is pregnant, please forward this post along to them. For the rest of us, let's allow this study to reinforce the notion that the chemicals in artificial sweeteners can be detrimental to our health. If artificial sweeteners can have such a powerful effect on the health of babies, we should beware of their effect on us as well.
3 Comments:
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I noticed that you don't have a lot of posts about pregnancy and diet, and I'm admittedly curious about that. I know that you're not a proponent of supplements, but I also know that doctors stress the importance of certain pre-natal supplements especially folic acid. Have you done any research or found any helpful sources for those of us who eat a plant-based diet and are hesitant to take supplements. Maybe a better question: if I drink my daily green smoothie with kale, will that be sufficient? Or will I be lacking something?
Love your blog!
Yes, we hear so much about folic acid during pregnancy - that's enriched flour products are now fortified with folic acid: for pregnant women! A shortage of folic acid during pregnancy can cause a baby to develop Spina Bifida, where the spinal cord isn't completely formed and there is sometimes brain damage.
Ironically, folic acid (or folate) is needed most during the first months - especially the first month - of pregnancy, often before a woman knows she's pregnant! That's when most of the nervous tissue is formed. So while prenatal vitamins aren't necessarily harmful, they are late in coming!
The best bet for women who are interested in becoming pregnant is to eat a diet rich in folate, which is found in fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes of course :-)