There are limited data on the consumption of artificial (nonnutritive) sweeteners while lactating. In one study, breast milk samples taken from 20 lactating volunteers (19 of whom consumed 0–2 diet beverages per day, and one who consumed 7 per day) revealed that 65% of milk samples contained saccharin, sucralose, and acesulfame-potassium. Aspartame was not detected.[1]
The implications of these findings are unknown. There is speculation that they may affect an infant’s gut microbiota and/or adversely affect an infant’s future cardiometabolic health, but there are no studies in humans to support this claim.[2]
References
- ^Allison C Sylvetsky, Alexandra L Gardner, Viviana Bauman, Jenny E Blau, H Martin Garraffo, Peter J Walter, Kristina I RotherNonnutritive Sweeteners in Breast MilkJ Toxicol Environ Health A.(2015)
- ^Archibald AJ, Dolinsky VW, Azad MBEarly-Life Exposure to Non-Nutritive Sweeteners and the Developmental Origins of Childhood Obesity: Global Evidence from Human and Rodent Studies.Nutrients.(2018-Feb-10)