Saturday
Dec112010
Is it safe to drink diet pop when pregnant?
Wow, this one is a touchy subject out there. Who knew?
All I can find is concerns about the caffeine in some diet soft drinks and how saccharin should be avoided because it can accumulate in the baby's bladder and potentially increase its risk for bladder problems or possibly even bladder cancer. Although, they don't know for sure. Great.
Aspartame seems to be alright as long as you don't consume over sixty 12-oz cans or suffer from a rare genetic condition called phenylketonuria. So put down that 70th can of Coke you nut!
I've also gone into a little more detail in artificial sweetners if you want to check that out too.
search: diet soda/pop pregnancy, safe to drink coke while pregnant, diet drinks pregnant, phenylketonuria
7 Comments
Reader Comments (7)
I have to say, my dad had problems for a year or more with terrible leg cramps in his shins and calves do to the aspartame in his diet pepsi. He completely stopped drinking it switching to unsweetened Ice tea. He no longer has leg cramps and can sleep at night without pain in his legs. Thought this could be helpful!
I was two weeks from my due date and a well known cheese cake chef (named Carol) from Toronto WENT CRAZY on me for ordering a diet coke in her restaurant. She had the nerve to lecture me and tell me I was harming my unborn child by drinking Diet Coke. She was so inappropriate it was like a cartoon. She would not let it go--I actually kindly asked her several times to stop--then I treated her like I treat my dog when she is eating something bad--and said in a Master's voice "off". My husband is a scientist. We read the studies. We clearly did our homework-I can't understand how wrong, dogmatic and vocal people can be about this issue.
A specialist told me he would rather I drink a regular coke every now and then, then a diet coke, EVER. Due to the aspartame and the horribly negative effects on the body. That was before I was pregnant. I have fibromyalgia and just as an FYI tip, aspartame is incredibly inflammatory. So if you experience chronic body pain or have a health issue such as fibromyalgia, kick your fake sugar habit and watch that pain decrease. Pregnant or not, aspartame is very bad news.
the beauty of being a grown up is that you get to DECIDE FOR YOURSELF what you want to drink or not. Moderation is the key. and a sense of humour wouldn't hurt either!
You could always try a diet soda sweetened with Stevia. Try Zevia .
I am pregnant and I make sure that I avoid drinks with caffeine, also any other soda. I have friends who are so-called 'cola addicts' and they don't stop drinking these stuff even when they're pregnant. I always want to be on the safe side so I just avoid drinking/taking too much of these while having a baby.
Shelley Penney
Stop Fibromyalgia Pain
Aspartame was originally developed by the army as a biological weapon. It is a nerve toxin, that in small doeses is supposed to be harmless and taste sweet. I love diet coke, but have decided to stay away from it during pregnancy just in case. I can't get past the "nerve toxin" label.