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silly question, but..
Is diet coke ok in pregnancy?? I was drinking it everyday before i got pg, but very strangely, about a week before i found out i was pg i went off it!! I just didnt want it anymore, which was a huge shock to me and everyone around me!
Is it ok to drink during pregnancy? I dont want to go back to drinking it heaps, but i did have one the other day....
I was told to avoid artificil sweetners, particularly aspartame (equal/nutrasweet), when pregnant.
Not sure which ones they use in diet coke.
If you can you should try to avoid it.
Caffinee can lead to birth defects (i just read that last night in my healthy eating for pregnancy book).
Emz - I was like you but because it has a sweetner # 951 in it you shouldn't drink it while pregnant - its the same with pepsi max - it has the same sweetner - you are better to drink the normal coke but in the cafine free version
I think Diet Coke contains the artificial sweetener Phenylalanine.
If you do some research into it you will find that there is a fair bit of controversay on the safety of phenylalanine.
Everything you read needs to be taken with a grain of salt however.
I have decided that if I get pg I will not be having more than glass/can of diet drink or one low fat/low sugar yoghurt per day.
And I would try to keep the caffeine to a minimum too...
But thats just me... I like to err on the side of caution. ;)
every now and again is fine but you should try not to drink it everyday :D
I avoided all caffine based drinks while pregnant....well untill the end....I started to drink caffine free coke or diet coke as I LOVE the taste!
I think as long as you don't drink it excessivley or only diet coke its alright, but thats me.
Like Ambah said loads of things can cause you to worry about whether or not you should continue their use during pg if you look long enough at their ingredients list. But at times I think you need to make a choice about how much of it is a concern, sure if you are drinking litres & litres of the stuff a day then you probably should cut back a bit. On the other hand I look at some of the lifestyles of some pg women & wonder what I've got to worry about!!
Take it into consideration & then make a choice that you are happy with. If you are happy to ban it altogether during your pg then that is your choice & that is all that matters.
I had the occassional regular coke to settle my tummy with m/s (worked wonders btw! Don't know if it's the fizz, the caffeine or what). I avoid artificial sweeteners too. But I avoid them in general anyway regardless of being pg or not. DH drinks diet coke, and I don't like it. I'd rather him just have natural sugars.
I read in my nutrition book that it's best to stay away from caffeine, but if you really can't go without, one drink a day should be ok. I couldn't resist an English Breakfast tea the other day. Felt guilty afterwards tho! lol. I pictured the poor bubby's heart racing away with the caffeine.
Avoid most diet drinks as they contain artificial sweeteners which are bad for you and the baby.
Also Caffine in the first trimester can increase the chance of miscarriage. I am a big coffee and tea drinker and just before I found out I was pg any caffine would make me feel violently ill. This lasted until about week 23-24 when suddenly my newest craving became coffee. I do try to limit it as I have noticed much more movement from bigfoot if I have too much coffee, usually at night when I am trying to sleep.
What about Caffine free Diet Coke???
I haven't heard about caffiene causing miscarriages, but I avoided it in the 1st trimester b/c it apparently reduces the absorption of folate, which I suppose is why someone mentioned it causes defects? I don't think caffiene directly causes defects though. I've been told that a cup a day is fine.
Thanks for all the info ladies... think i will just keep away from it. Hasnt been a problem so far and the one that i did have last week tasted weird to me anyway.... obviously dont need it...
Thanks Heaps!!! :D
I have not actually read or heard anything about the artificial sweeteners in diet drinks. I think you should take all this *info* with a grain of salt and make your own decisions because pretty soon pregnant women will not be able to eat or drink anything if we listened to all the so called experts on the subject.
As Kisty has stated, take a look around you at other pg women and see what they get up to.
God Im bad through both pregnancys I drank Pepsi- Max every day and not just a can a day either, probably 3-4 cans a day?
Mine are both fine (apart from the ticks and stuff) ---sorry my attempt at humor!!!!!!!!!! ](*,)
Here is just a little bit of information about Aspartame, and why you probably shouldnt drink it whether you are pregnant or not. Mind you, once I read this I simply changed to normal coke. But during the pregnancy I have been pretty good and only drinking it every now and then, as opposed to what I was before. Simply because it doesnt taste the same anymore LOL!! So I agree that while we are being over cautious when it comes to some foods and everything else, Aspartame is nasty, and its not something you would want to give your baby Im sure.
When the temperature of this sweetener exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in ASPARTAME converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic acidosis. Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of fire ants. The methanol toxicity mimics, among other conditions, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus.
Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics. We found that some physicians, who believed that they had a patient with retinopathy, in fact, had symptoms caused by Aspartame. The Aspartame drives the blood sugar out of control.Thus diabetics may suffer acute memory loss due to the fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are NEUROTOXIC when taken without the other amino acids necessary for a good balance. Treating diabetes is all about BALANCE. Especially with diabetics, the Aspartame passes the blood/brain barrier and it then deteriorates the neurons of the brain; causing various levels of brain damage,seizures, depression, manic depression, panic attacks, uncontrollable anger and rage. Consumption of Aspartame causes these same symptoms in non-diabetics, as well.Documentation and observation also reveal that thousands of children diagnosed with ADD and AHD have had complete turnarounds in their behavior when these chemicals have been removed from their diet. Most of these children were being "poisoned" on a daily basis with the very foods that were "better for them than sugar".
Dr. Roberts warns that it can cause birth defects, i.e., mental retardation,if taken at the time of conception and during early pregnancy. Children are especially at risk for neurological disorders and should NEVER be given artificial sweeteners. There are many different case histories to relate of children suffering grand mal seizures and other neurological disturbances due to the use of aspartame. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to convince people that Aspartame is to blame for their child's illness.
Source : EXCITOTOXINS: THE TASTE THAT KILLS - written by Dr. Russell Blayblock and;
DEFENSE AGAINST ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE - written by DR H. J. Roberts
yeah I've heard that. Need to even be careful with sweets and lollies, and even no sugar chewing gum! I'm usually pretty careful with those artificial sugars even when not pregnant.
The aspartame debate has been around for a long time. Some has been said to be hoax and some has said to be untrue, and some has said to be fact and researched. I have come to the conclusion that I do what I think is safe and I think even sugar in high doses can be toxic IMO. I have had the occasional diet drink when pg, even had the occasional diet coke (sure I could count it one one hand LOL, but still). But I have to say this, diet drinks have been around for a LONG time, my mother is in her 50's with diabetes and she has always drank diet drinks, and even through MY pregnancy.
Just use common sense, and try not to give into "hype" when you can.
*hugs*
Cailin
I still think natural sugars would be better than chemical sweeteners :) But I agree.. need to keep balanced views on all these things. There's me avoiding artificial sweeteners, yet I still use deodorant with aluminium in it! If it's not one thing it's another. You'd go crazy trying to follow all the hype :)
I drink one to two diet cokes a day (usually just one). As for the caffeine, most professionals agree that the amount of caffeine in the equivolent of 2 to 3 cups of coffee per day is safe, and soft drinks have about a third to half of the caffeine in one cup of coffee. Regular coke is no doubt a better choice but I have GD so sugar is a no-no for me. Both my dr and my nutritionist are fine with me having 1 to 2 a day - but do what you feel comfortable with.
Cheers
Stephanie
I would steer clear of any softdrinks whenever possible and definitely ones with caffeine in them.
In Sydney Morning Herald today:
So moderation is definitely important. But we already knew that! :D:
Pregnant women who drink more than three cups of coffee a day are at a significantly higher risk of miscarriage or stillbirth, a study warns.
A survey of almost 90,000 women in Denmark found that those who drank four to seven cups of coffee a day during pregnancy had a 33 per cent increased risk of foetal death, and those who drank eight or more cups had a 59 per cent increased risk.
Dr Debra Kennedy, director of the MotherSafe advice centre at Sydney's Royal Hospital for Women, said moderation was the key.
"We normally say up to three cups a day is absolutely fine," she said.
"But it's not great health-wise anyway to have eight cups of coffee a day, let alone if you're pregnant."
The study adjusted for other factors such as alcohol consumption and smoking.
After adjusting for these factors, the study found that those who drank half to three cups of coffee a day had a 3 per cent increased risk of foetal death than those who drank no coffee.