what's worse - eating sweetener while pregnant or going back to sugar and getting fat and having horrible back problems etc

[yesway]

Does anyone know?

Got BFP this morning but already have backache and weigh more than I should without any pregnancy weight gain.

[crumpette]

Congratulations on your BFP

Eating sweeteners is worse, far worse than sugar. No sweetener is safe and the long-term effects of highly toxic things like aspartame etc on a fetus have not been researched fully. Saccharine has been shown to raise the risk of birth defects. Aspartame breaks down into methanol, phenylalanine and aspartic acid which may inhibit fetal brain growth (phenylalanine) and raise the risk of other birth defects. There are other risks that are documented as well but I won't bore you with them all

You won't gain weight just by not eating diet products, if you eat sensibly blablabla then having sugar instead won't matter and is an awful lot healthier than sweeteners.

Maybe pay a visit to a health food shop, they often stock natural sweeteners if you wish to add any to drinks etc. Also, honey, fruit juice, etc all have the same effect without nasty chemicals.

[yesway]

Thanks Crumpette.
Have just been googling it. It seems that the case for aspartamine being dangerous is well established. However, the American food and drugs administration say Splenda is safe throughout pregnancy. They do know their stuff. It is made out of sugar after all. here

[crumpette]

hi yesway, lol I am having a '2012 is coming and we will all dieee...' day

but I personally wouldn't trust splenda either, it is made of a bunch of -ose's, the main one is sucralose which is manufactured by adding chlorine atoms into the mix. The chemical name of sucralose is 1,6-Dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-beta-D-fructofuranosyl-4-chloro-4-deoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranoside
sucrose alone is C12H22O11.

no studies on human health have been conducted, animal studies have shown nasty things and to be honest it's still a chemical blend and not sugar at all

but I promise that's the end of my rant I think everyone is exposed to toxins and chemicals throughout their lives and pregnancies, but some exposure is avoidable

[megonthemoon]

Congrats on the BFP

How many sweeteners do you use? If it is just one spoon in your cuppa a few times a day then I don't think switching to sugar is going to make you fat on its own and I think the risks with sweeteners far outweigh the small, if any, weight gain you'll get from just a few tsps of sugar.

[GunpowderTreasonAndDragons]

Where are you planning on using these sweeteners? If it's in a drink, I doubt the sugar you'd use instead would contribute greatly to your weight, it's the rest of your diet you need to keep an eye on.

[LadyOfTheFlowers]

Oops!

We use sweeteners as DH is diabetic.

I also glugged litres of Pepsi Max during last 3 pregs - became addicted.

Use them in tea too, though don't drink Pepsi anymore - not a craving this time.

Am worried now.

[yesway]

Pregnancy brain has got to me already! It's saccharin that is dangerous not aspartamine. I think you'd be hard pushed to find saccharine these days.

Here's a link you might find reassuring Ladyoftheflowers here

I have been doing a GI diet and have got into making deserts with sweetener and have yoghurts with sweetener as well as on my breakfast and in tea. I can cope with cutting it out of the latter two but I do need a sweet treat to end the day. (OK need is a bit strong)

This is preg number 4. With dd1 I put on 4 stone and had horrendous back problems. I wasn't eating loads of shit - just loads. I was starving all the time. For the other two pregnancies I have been really careful and have gained about 2 stone each - but I started from a slim start point. This time I am probably already 2 stone overweight....

[jardins]

Just to put a complete, boring dampner on this pregnancy business. Here in France they are so watchful of the weight expecting mothers put on. I go from gnashing my teeth to sighing and going with it. My midwife's advice during our first appointment was 'if you want to keep your weight gain to a reasonable amount keep away from sugar, honey, EVEN FRUIT!!!!!' Shock, horror!

I tried but must admit that at 29 weeks I have been indulging in some chocolate, and yes, fruit too: naughty me!!! The only thing that keeps me from putting on loads of weight is eating very lightly in the evening.

Actually the advantage of not eating too much sugar is that it helps reduce constipation and thrush. I'm trying to be positive here!!!!

Tell me something please, are the midwives as strict in the UK? If I put on 2 kg in a month (is that 4.5 Lbs?) I get told off in no uncertain terms.

Sigh.

[Morloth]

Just say "Fuck It" and eat as healthily as you can, indulging yourself occasionally. Sugar in reasonable quantities has got to be a better idea than artificial ones.

What about getting some Agave Syrup? It is super intensely sweet, so you need a fraction of the amount and also has quite a low GI response so no rushes.

I am not getting weighed this pregnancy. I will not be made to feel bad by doing what my body wants.

[jardins]

Hear, hear Morloth! Our bodies know better than any third party what to do during pregnancy.

[beaufies]

I wouldn't use any 'artificial sweeteners' as I don't like putting chemicals into my body but there is an alternative. It's called Zylitol which is low GI and actually very good for your teeth !

You can get it online from Higher Nature, where is's marketed as Zylosweet. I would highly recommend it - it's fab. One downside is that it's fairly expensive but I guess it depends how much you are using.

Otherwise I think you're better sticking with sugar

[yesway]

Thanks everyone esp Morloth and beaufies for the alternative suggestions.
It's amazing how much negative stuff is said about every sugar alternative even those! However, there also plenty of good evidence that glucose causes lots of diseases.

I just put zorbitol into my internet shop for next week.

Thanks.

[yesway]

Pregnancy brain already! I meant zylitol- I even found a study saying regular use in pregnancy reduces transmission of strep mutans (the cause of tooth decay) to baby in the first two years by 80%.

I also found that saponins in the agave can cause serious uterine contractions. So that I would definitely avoid later on.

[hobnob57]

What's wrong with saccharin? I knew about aspartame metabolising into all kinds of toxins but not saccharin. I've been addicted to decaf coffee with Hermesetas all pg

Having said that, I just use it out of habit - my chocolate craving has surpassed any benefit of using it

[butterscotch]

Don't know about the risks of sweetners but have you have a sweet tooth maybe try fruit sugar it is sweeter so you're likely to use less of it!

[yesway]

hobnob57 - to be honest there is nothing directly saying that saccharine is harmful - the trouble is there is so little research on any of these things. This is the link that worried me about saccharin here.
I'm sorry if I've upset you.

[Morloth]

Xylitol tastes quite nice as well, I like the ever so slight minty aftertaste.

[yesway]

Disaster.
Made some muffins with it on Tuesday - then yesterday had a little on my breakfast and a muffin for lunch. I spent the whol afternoon and evening doubled over in pain and reading about ectopics and miscarriage.
I am better today having farted it all out but am not sure whether to just throw the rest away now...

[Monkeytrousers]

oh ffs. Theres nothing wrong with sweetener.