In my  recent post on pregnancy and diet I referred to the book, What to Eat When You Are Expecting.

I said that at the time I read the book in (in 1993) I thought it was reasonable. It recommends fruits, vegetables, grains, the usual ho-hum Puritan diet we all expect is good for us. I went back and looked at it and was shocked that I hadn’t remembered that it doesn’t say anything is wrong with NutraSweet. It tells pregnant moms to stay away from white sugar but doesn’t condemn NutraSweet! If you have to have something sweet, I would much rather you ate white sugar than NutraSweet/aspartame. At least white sugar comes from something natural. The latter is made in a laboratory. Our bodies can’t recognize it so you are asking for trouble if you consume it because your body has to store it somewhere as a toxin. Stored toxins are bound to make you sick.

I have an old edition, which I bought at the Univ. of Utah bookstore when I was working at the U. and pregnant with my firstborn, back in 1993. Maybe a newer edition has changed that recommendation. I hope so.

The above video shows a scientist who is speaking out about NutraSweet/aspartame. He says it turns to methyl alcohol and makes you sick. He tells the sad story of a mom who drank lots of diet soda with aspartame while pregnant and her baby had birth defects and died. The link below is a free chapter in his book, While Science Sleeps. Please share with any pregnant moms you know about the dangers of diet sodas sweetened with NutraSweet.

http://www.feingold.org/DOCS/While_Science_Sleeps_Chapter_12.pdf