Is it safe to consume Acesulfame Potassium sweetener while pregnant?

Answer 1

I have been researching artificial sweeteners for a few years. Acesulfame potassium certainly has the least amount of studies indicating adverse side effects compared to other artificial sweeteners. I have found a study showing increased instance of mutations in DNA (only occurred in male mice http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/htdocs/GMM-studies/GMM02.html). I haven�t found any studies showing increased formation of cancerous cells. Acesulfame K has an excellent shelf life (5 years) and does not break down when cooked or baked. It is very low in arsenic (3 ppm max). Sucralose on the other hand is produced at 98% purity, that other 2% is comprised of arsenic, lead, and methanol. Methanol is 10% of the Aspartame molecule. Methanol metabolizes to formaldehyde and formic acid. My recommendation is to stay away from aspartame and sucralose, pregnant or not. As for asulfame potassium, I�ve been using it for about a year with no side effects experienced, but would avoid consumption if pregnant just to be safe. There haven�t been a significant number of long term studies on humans. For this reason, despite my use of it, i would not recommend it to others. A very conclusive 2 year study can be found here http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/v28je13.htm. out of all artificial sweeteners this appears (key word: appears) to be the safest. I feel the best solution is to train yourself to avoid satisfying cravings for sweets and like any addiction they�ll go away in time. overall we in the U.S. need more self discipline to begin with. I only accept use of sweeteners in products that otherwise taste very bad (protein powder), but I won�t even taste a drink that�s not 100% juice or pure water. things like tea taste bad to me now when i add sugar. Look at the above very closely. Now, if you are pregnant, do you drink alcohol or smoke. If you do, go ahead and ingest those fake sugars like aspartame and acesulfame potassium. Otherwise, if you intend to stay healthy and live a long life leave all of the synthetic stuff alone. Use raw tupelo honey instead. Has a low glycemic index and helps the digestive and immune system. Besides, it does not leave an odd taste in your mouth. Stick with the real sweeteners and leave all those chemicals out of your diet. You will be healthier and feel much better. You may even stop having those horrible head aches if you leave that Diet Soda out of your diet completely.