Artificial or “natural” sweeteners are consumed by millions of people every single day for various, and valid, reasons. While consuming low-calorie sweeteners is considered safe during pregnancy and breast feeding, new evidence suggests that negative side effects are possible. Recent studies have found that these products could actually be putting certain health factors at risk in fetus’s and infants when consumed daily by their mothers.
Aspartame is the technical term for a certain artificial sweeteners which is used as a sugar substitute, commonly in beverages. According to Dr. Raylene Reimer, PhD, University of Calgary professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, and Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the Cumming School of Medicine, newly found evidence suggests the low calorie sweeteners may increase obesity and have other cardiovascular risk factors on fetus’s and infants. The study, conducted on mice, showed that when matter from offspring of mothers that consumed artificial sweeteners was introduced to the sterile bodied mice, significant weight gain and poor blood glucose control was an outcome. Although there is not yet a complete understanding of why it happens, this study showed how—even though neither the offspring nor the mice had directly consumed any of the artificial sweeteners, the mother of the offspring did, which triggered the obesity and poor blood glucose. In other studies, the presence of certain sweeteners were detected in breastmilk, which contributes to the belief that consumption of these products by mothers can still affect their children even outside of the womb.
Some of the most common brand names of the artificial sweetener aspartame include “Equal” and “Nutrasweet.” “Stevia” is another commonly consumed sweetener that is considered to be natural, however daily consumption of even this alternative NOT containing any aspartame showed similar impacts. This means that although some artificial sweeteners like “Sweet N’ Low” and “Splenda” don’t contain aspartame, risk factors could still be present. Hopefully with this information, researchers and scientists can continue to make breakthroughs in finding optimal diets for healthy mothers and children. Click the link for the full article! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200129174510.htm
University of Calgary. “Low-calorie sweeteners do not mean low risk for infants: New research shows the impact ‘diet’ ingredients have on body weight and gut microbiota.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 January 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200129174510.htm>.
Breaking Science. 