Diet fizzy drinks ‘could slash chances of getting pregnant during IVF’
Low-calorie pop and sweeteners also produced poorer eggs and embryos, research shows
DIET drinks may reduce a woman’s chance of getting pregnant during IVF, data suggests.
Those who supped low-calorie pop or put sweeteners in coffee produced poorer eggs and embryos.
But others who necked sugary soft drinks or spooned sugar into their coffee also produced lower quality eggs.
The study concluded: “Patients should be advised about the adverse effect of sugar and mainly artificial sweeteners on the success of assisted reproduction.”
Researchers from the Fertility Medical Group in Sao Paulo, Brazil, looked at some 5,000 eggs produced by 524 women having fertility treatment known as ICSI.
The report was presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Professor Adam Balen, chairman of the British Fertility Society, said: “This is a very interesting study.
“The environment in which the egg develops is very sensitive to external influences and we shouldn’t under-estimate the potential effects of food additives to reproductive health.”
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But nutritional experts said it did not prove the drinks were to blame.
Catherine Collins, of the British Dietetic Association, said: “If you’re keen to get pregnant, cutting out sugar is a positive contribution to reducing calorie intake and managing blood sugar.”
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WOMEN over 40 who conceive via IVF are twice as likely to have healthy kids than those who get pregnant naturally, studies show.
Experts are unsure why but believe it may be connected to the hormones used in treatment reversing some effects of ageing.
Prof Michael Davies, of the Robinson Research Institute in Adelaide, Australia, studied 300,000 births over 16 years.
