pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

I have always been a diet soda drinker - besides water, that is all I drink. Now that I am preggo I switched to Caffeine Free Diet, only to have someone tell me that we should not be having any lowfat/fat free products. I also bought low fat yogurt and fat free ice cream (trying to get the calcium w/o all the extra calories).

What is your take on this, and why aren't we supposed to have it?

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

personally, I am staying away from a lot of diet foods. the chemicals in them aren't worth saving calories, IMO. if I want a soda, I just drink a regular one.

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

i believe the reason why is that we don't really know how artificial sweeteners affect the growing baby...

having said that, i am definitely in the "everything in moderation" camp. i don't think there's one "illegal" food that i haven't had at least one bite of since i've been pregnant! as long as you don't overdo it, i think it's fine.

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

Its not so much "diet" things ... its things with artificial sweetners, which usually include diet things. Some Dr's say to avoid them since there isn't enough research done on them to determine if they cause any problems to the baby. Some Dr's don't believe they pose a problem at all and don't mention avoiding them.

The most common artificial sweetners are:

sucralose (splenda, found in diet drinks and many low carb/diet foods) (some Drs. say Splenda is ok while pg, but I dont trust it)
aspartame (equal/nutrasweet, found in diet sodas and foods)
sacharrin (sweet & low)
maltitol, sorbitol & mannitol (found in most low carb stuff, ie, meal bars)
xylitol (found in trident gum)
stevia (although made from a plant, is not approved by FDA)

safe sweeteners include:
refined sugars, high fructose corn syrup, crystalline fructose, sucrose, glucose, dextrose, corn sweeteners, honey, lactose, maltose, various syrups, invert sugars, concentrated fruit juice, maltodextrin

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

Artificial sweeteners should be taken in moderation. I choose to avoid them all together, just not enough known about the long term effects on fetuses.

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

I was all about diet foods/drink prior to being pregnant. My dr. sugguested that I stay away from the artificial sweetners so I took his advice. I rather be safe than sorry but that is my opinion. I think different people / different doctors have different views.

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

i think lowfat dairy is fine-like skim milk or part skim cheeses...otherwise diet foods containing fake sugars and such i dont think you should have.

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

I've pretty much avoided all diet foods with artificial sweeteners during my pregnancy. I don't want to take the risk w/ the chemicals since we really don't know the affect it has on the baby. When I crave a soda, I'll just have regular (which has only been a handful of times the whole pregnancy).

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

i love diet soda and cannot drink regular...it is just too sweet for me. my dr told me that up to 2 glasses of diet soda a day are fine...but i have to say, since ive been pregnant ive been craving seltzer anyway so i really dont drink that much of it!

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

my dr told me in moderation diet soda was ok. I was a big diet soda drinker, now I have regular (like Sprite or Rootbeer) and on occassion I'll have a diet.

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

I haven't touched diet soda since getting PG because of the artificial sweeteners. I only drank diet soda and water before PG too. I never knew that I'd miss my Diet Pepsi so much. But it's worth it!!!

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

My doctor hasn't brought this up, but I don't trust artificial sweetners myself, so I'm not having any while pregnant. Makes me wonder if I should have them at all---I really can't say I miss them.

If I really want a soda, I occasionally have a regular soda.

As for yogurt, I think you can have lowfat plain yogurt, it's the sweetner you want to avoid. Try mixing plain yogurt with fruit and a small spoon of sugar or jelly. It's good I think, and you not too sweet.

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

My Dr. also advises against all artificial sweeteners, so I have avoided them during my pregnancy.

I believe that dairy is the one food group where fat can be reduced without the addition of a lot of chemicals....so low/reduced fat cheeses are okay...and you can usually get LOW fat yogurt without the addition of artifical sweeteners (they add them to the fat free ususally)

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

i am a diet soda drinker, actually im a water drinker, but when i drink soda, i prefer diet. i just like the taste better than regular soda.
i drink a diet coke with lunch most M-F's. i hope thats not to much. I havent asked my dr, but they also havent said not to.
i also drink skim and have low fat dairy products.

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

I was a avid diet soda drinker before getting pregnant. I love diet soda, diet snapple etc. Now I drink it ocassionally...once a week if that. I stick to water. My dr. did say everything in moderation.

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

Every doctor is different, my doctor said diet soda was fine....I was not a big soda drinker while pregnant though and if I was going to have a soda, I would not want a diet

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks

my first OB with DS#1 said in moderation.

My current one says no. that aspertame crosses the placenta. So I have laid off most of it - although I do have it once in a blue moon (I just can't stand regular soda)

She actually gave me a great suggestion. I get decaf iced tea mix and make it half strength. I'm not a sweet person to begin with - so it was easy to do this, but you could probably cut it little by little.

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I'm in the minority, I drink at least one diet soda/day and have 2 splendas in my coffee

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This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine... the fact that no 2 doctors give the same advice regarding things like this.

This is my 3rd baby, and I have never once been told by any of my doctors (My 1st was with a different OB. My 2nd and this one are the same dr)that I should avoid artificial sweeteners or diet sodas etc.

The only things I drink are water and Crystal light lemonade. When I do have the occasional soda, its diet because I cannot stomach regular.

Makes me nuts though the way that some doctors say to avoid them (and other things too), and some others never make mention of it.

My OB through 2 of my pregnanices has only ever told me to avoid raw fish (sushi) and to wash all fruits and veggies before eating them. His exact words to me at the beginning of my last pregnancy were "everything in moderation, you do not have to avoid anything really, except for alcohol really".

Re: pregnancy and diet foods/drinks