Pregnancy is a time when many women try to eat as healthful a diet as possible. Hopefully, they continue doing so, and feed their families healthful foods, after they have their babies. For those who are interested in the long-term effects of foods, today’s foods contain between ten thousand and one hundred thousand food additives! Some additives that are used in many foods, such as certified food colorings and sodium nitrite, are known to cause cancer in laboratory animals. It is best to avoid foods with chemical additives whenever possible.
Aspartame (Nutrasweet), saccharin, and other artificial sweeteners are not known to cause maternal illness or fetal disorders. Aspartame has been approved by the FDA for use during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Saccharin was found to cause cancer in laboratory animals when given in huge doses, but the FDA just took of their list of carcinogenic substances because it was not found to cause cancer in humans after all.