Are you trying to conceive and regularly drink sugar-sweetened beverages/sodas? A new study has shown that sugary drinks damage fertility in both women and men.
Previous studies have linked the consumption of sugary drinks with various health issues including diabetes, heart disease, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease and there is increasing focus on the health problems these drinks can cause.
The Study
The new study was carried out by Boston University School of Public Health over 4 years and followed 3,828 women and 1,045 of their male partners. The participants had all been trying to become pregnant for at least 6 months prior to the start of the study.
Researchers had the participants complete detailed questionnaires covering their medical history, lifestyle and diet with specific questions about drinking fruit juice, energy/sports drinks and soda (diet and sugar-sweetened).
The researchers then analysed the results and adjusted for other things that can impact fertility such as smoking, alcohol, caffeine intake, weight and poor diet. The results were significant.
Overall men and women who drank sugar-sweetened drinks had 20% lower fertility rates compared to average.
The study also suggests that the more you consume these types of drink the bigger the impact. Women who drank at least one sugary drink a day had fertility rates that were 20% lower fertility rates 25% lower than average and men who drank at least one sugary drink a day had fertility rates that were 33% lower than average.
If you would like to read the study it was published in the journal Epidemiology (Intake of Sugar-sweetened Beverages and Fecundability in a North American Preconception Cohort. Epidemiology. 2018 Jan 30).
The message is clear: sugary drinks damage fertility so if you are trying to become pregnant this study strongly suggests that you should give them up.