Downing diet soda tied to risk of premature birth
By Anne Harding
NEW YORK | Fri Jul 23, 2010 2:30pm EDT
(Reuters Health) - New research suggests that drinking lots of artificially sweetened beverages may be linked with an increased risk of premature births.
"It may be non-optional for pregnant women to have high consumption of these types of products," Dr. Thorhallur I. Halldorsson of the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, one of the researchers on the study, told Reuters Health.
"Diet" drinks are widely promoted as a healthy alternative to sugary sodas and juices, but Halldorsson and his colleagues note that there's been little research on the safety of regular consumption of artificial sweeteners in humans.
Soft drinks -- both artificially sweetened and sugar sweetened -- were recently linked to high blood pressure, the researchers add, which increases the risk of premature delivery. To investigate whether there might be a direct link, the researchers looked at nearly 60,000 Danish women who reported on their diet, including how many soft drinks they had each day, at around 25 weeks of pregnancy.
Around 5 percent of women delivered their babies before 37 weeks.
Women who had at least one serving of artificially sweetened soda a day while they were pregnant were 38 percent more likely to deliver preterm than women who drank no diet soda at all, the researchers report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Women who had at least four diet sodas a day were nearly 80 percent more likely to deliver preterm. The association was the same for normal-weight and overweight women.
The researchers did not report the actual risk of premature babies in each group. However, according to the March of Dimes, one in eight babies -- or around 13 percent -- is born too soon. This means that if drinking diet soda does indeed increase risk - which must first be confirmed by other research teams -- a woman who drank at least one diet soda daily would have a 17 percent risk, while her risk would be around 22 percent if she drank four or more diet sodas.
Because only diet soda was linked to preterm delivery, not sugar-sweetened soda, the findings suggest that the artificial sweetener itself, not soda drinking, could account for the relationship, the researchers say. However, they add, other possible causes for the link can't be ruled out.
The researchers didn't look at specific artificial sweeteners, and Halldorsson noted that many beverages contain more than one of these chemicals. However, he and his colleagues say, there is indirect evidence linking the sweetener aspartame to preterm delivery in animals.
Aspartame breaks down into methanol and other substances in the body, which can in turn be converted to toxic substances such as formaldehyde and formic acid, the researchers explain. And studies in non-human primates have linked even very low exposure to methanol to shortened pregnancy and labor complications.
SOURCE: link.reuters.com/vep98m American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online June 30, 2010.
Artificial Sweetener [Aspartame, Advantame, Neotame, Canderel, AminoSweet, tm NutraSweet tm Equal], information from the files of Mary Nash Stoddard's Aspartame Consumer Safety Network - based in Dallas TX since 1987. Includes Scientific Research and other documentation showing the reported risk factors associated with use of these toxic aspartame-based sweeteners in humans.
BIO Mary Nash Stoddard on Twitter
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PRESENTING: MARY NASH STODDARD - Co-Founder of the massive international anti-aspartame movement in the mid 1980's, following the brain tumor death of her forty two year old husband, Mike. Ms. Stoddard suffered a life threatening aspartame-related blood disorder in 1985, whereupon, The NutraSweet Co. offered her an all-expense paid vacation for two anywhere in the world, if she would agree to be tested by their doctors. She declined, with the blessing of her doctor, and the rest is history. She has conducted multi-national lecture tours and is a popular visiting professor at colleges, universities and medical schools. "Deadly Deception - Story of Aspartame" is a toxicology sourcebook, edited by Ms. Stoddard, documenting the harmful effects of the world's most toxic artificial sweetener. The companion one hour "Deadly Deception" video is further documentation - taped at a prestigious scientific conference. Stoddard's efforts, over more than two decades, led to the present rejection of the sweetener by many of the food and beverage giants of industry, as they rush to distance themselves from the liabilities associated with use of a neuro-toxic substance in their products. She has testified in court as an Expert Medical Witness and like her counterpart, Erin Brokovitch, helped with a number of lawsuits on behalf of consumers. Her powerful message has reached millions around the world through the airwaves on radio and television, in print and through popular personal appearances.
Honors, Awards, Societies:
• Expert Medical Witness [1992-present]
* Guest Presenter Gulf War Veterans Annual Conference - [Las Vegas 1999]
* Visiting Professor: U. T. Southwestern Medical School [1997]
* Visiting Professor: American University School of Journalism [1999]
* Visiting Professor: University of North Texas at Denton Dept. of Science [1990 and 2005]
• Visiting Professor: University of Houston Bioneers Conference [2006]
* Invited speaker: Hebrew Univ. Jerusalem - [1997]
* Keynote speech: Mexican Government's Annual Conference on Sweeteners [1999]
* Appointed Judge - State of Texas [1977-1984]
* Broadcast Journalist - [1965-present]
* President's Council on Food Safety - [1998-1999]
* International Lecture Tours - [1996-present]
* Testimony Senate Committee Hearing on Safety of Aspartame - Washington [1987]
* Panelist at National News Conference Announcing Dr. John Olney's Brain Tumor/Aspartame Connection - Washington D.C. [1998]
* Inducted Member Texas Radio Hall of Fame [2002-present]
Representative of the Texas Rice Growers Association [Miss Rice]
Board member: Irving Symphony Orchestra
Board Member: Irving Community Theater
Founding Board Member Radio Station KNON [public radio], Dallas
Charter member City of Dallas Citizens Safety Committee
Board Member Dallas Mayor’s Fee Task Force
Vice President Operation Get Involved, [liaison committee of the D.P.D.]
Board member Dallas Homeowners League
President Save Open Space
Texas Steering Committee Presidential Election
Award for Public Service - Mexican Government
State of Texas Board of Adjustment
