Annelise S
Hi Everyone,
I am currently going through a miscarriage. I hate drinking normal water so I drink carbonated water. I recently read that the carbonated water that is in soda can bind with calcium which your baby really needs. Could this have caused my miscarriage? I just want to know for next time so I don't make the same mistake again. Thank you.
Annie
Answer
Yes, perfectly safe, and no, this definitely didn't cause your miscarriage. It isn't the carbonation in fizzy drinks that causes calcium loss. It's the phosphoric acid that's added. And they only add this to pop. Check the label for your water: if you're drinking Perrier or something like that, it doesn't contain phosphoric acid. What makes it fizzy is carbon dioxide, something trees and our bodies make anyway. Absolutely, positively, safe. So there is no reason to worry! Drink up! I have been my whole pregnancy. In fact, if it means we're getting more water, it's good for us!
I'm really sorry about what happened. It wasn't your fault, at all though. It wasn't anything you did. Sometimes there is nobody at fault, it just happens.
Biological effects on bone calcium and kidney health
Phosphoric acid, used in many soft drinks (primarily cola), has been linked to lower bone density in epidemiological studies. For example, a study[2] using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry rather than a questionnaire about breakage, provides reasonable evidence to support the theory that drinking cola results in lower bone density. This study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. A total of 1672 women and 1148 men were studied between 1996 and 2001. Dietary information was collected using a food frequency questionnaire that had specific questions about the number of servings of cola and other carbonated beverages and that also made a differentiation between regular, caffeine-free, and diet drinks. The paper cites significant statistical evidence to show that women who consume cola daily have lower bone density. Total phosphorus intake was not significantly higher in daily cola consumers than in nonconsumers; however, the calcium-to-phosphorus ratios were lower. The study also suggests that further research is needed to confirm the findings.
On the other hand, a study funded by Pepsi suggests that low intake of phosphorus leads to lower bone density. The study does not examine the effect of phosphoric acid, which binds with magnesium and calcium in the digestive tract to form salts that are not absorbed, but, rather, it studies general phosphorus intake.[3]
However, a well-controlled clinical study by Heaney and Rafferty using calcium-balance methods found no impact of carbonated soft drinks containing phosphoric acid on calcium excretion.[4] The study compared the impact of water, milk, and various soft drinks (two with caffeine and two without; two with phosphoric acid and two with citric acid) on the calcium balance of 20- to 40-year-old women who customarily consumed ~3 or more cups (680 ml) of a carbonated soft drink per day. They found that, relative to water, only milk and the two caffeine-containing soft drinks increased urinary calcium, and that the calcium loss associated with the caffeinated soft drink consumption was about equal to that previously found for caffeine alone. Phosphoric acid without caffeine had no impact on urine calcium, nor did it augment the urinary calcium loss related to caffeine. Because studies have shown that the effect of caffeine is compensated for by reduced calcium losses later in the day,[5] Heaney and Rafferty concluded that the net effect of carbonated beverages â including those with caffeine and phosphoric acid - is negligible, and that the skeletal effects of carbonated soft drink consumption are likely due primarily to milk displacement.
Other chemicals such as caffeine (also a significant component of popular common cola drinks) were also suspected as possible contributors to low bone density, due to the known effect of caffeine on calciuria. One other study, comprised of 30 women over the course of a week, suggests that phosphoric acid in colas has no such effect, and postulates that caffeine has only a temporary effect, which is later reversed. The authors of this study conclude that the skeletal effects of carbonated beverage consumption are likely due primarily to milk displacement.[4] (Another possible confounding factor may be an association between high soft drink consumption and sedentary lifestyle.)
Cola consumption has also been linked to chronic kidney disease and kidney stones through medical research.[6] This study differentiated between the effects of cola (generally contains phosphoric acid), non-cola carbonated beverages (substitute citric acid) and coffee (control for caffeine), and found that drinking 2 or more colas per day more than doubled the incidence of kidney disease.
congratulations on the pregnancy!
Yes, perfectly safe, and no, this definitely didn't cause your miscarriage. It isn't the carbonation in fizzy drinks that causes calcium loss. It's the phosphoric acid that's added. And they only add this to pop. Check the label for your water: if you're drinking Perrier or something like that, it doesn't contain phosphoric acid. What makes it fizzy is carbon dioxide, something trees and our bodies make anyway. Absolutely, positively, safe. So there is no reason to worry! Drink up! I have been my whole pregnancy. In fact, if it means we're getting more water, it's good for us!
I'm really sorry about what happened. It wasn't your fault, at all though. It wasn't anything you did. Sometimes there is nobody at fault, it just happens.
Biological effects on bone calcium and kidney health
Phosphoric acid, used in many soft drinks (primarily cola), has been linked to lower bone density in epidemiological studies. For example, a study[2] using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry rather than a questionnaire about breakage, provides reasonable evidence to support the theory that drinking cola results in lower bone density. This study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. A total of 1672 women and 1148 men were studied between 1996 and 2001. Dietary information was collected using a food frequency questionnaire that had specific questions about the number of servings of cola and other carbonated beverages and that also made a differentiation between regular, caffeine-free, and diet drinks. The paper cites significant statistical evidence to show that women who consume cola daily have lower bone density. Total phosphorus intake was not significantly higher in daily cola consumers than in nonconsumers; however, the calcium-to-phosphorus ratios were lower. The study also suggests that further research is needed to confirm the findings.
On the other hand, a study funded by Pepsi suggests that low intake of phosphorus leads to lower bone density. The study does not examine the effect of phosphoric acid, which binds with magnesium and calcium in the digestive tract to form salts that are not absorbed, but, rather, it studies general phosphorus intake.[3]
However, a well-controlled clinical study by Heaney and Rafferty using calcium-balance methods found no impact of carbonated soft drinks containing phosphoric acid on calcium excretion.[4] The study compared the impact of water, milk, and various soft drinks (two with caffeine and two without; two with phosphoric acid and two with citric acid) on the calcium balance of 20- to 40-year-old women who customarily consumed ~3 or more cups (680 ml) of a carbonated soft drink per day. They found that, relative to water, only milk and the two caffeine-containing soft drinks increased urinary calcium, and that the calcium loss associated with the caffeinated soft drink consumption was about equal to that previously found for caffeine alone. Phosphoric acid without caffeine had no impact on urine calcium, nor did it augment the urinary calcium loss related to caffeine. Because studies have shown that the effect of caffeine is compensated for by reduced calcium losses later in the day,[5] Heaney and Rafferty concluded that the net effect of carbonated beverages â including those with caffeine and phosphoric acid - is negligible, and that the skeletal effects of carbonated soft drink consumption are likely due primarily to milk displacement.
Other chemicals such as caffeine (also a significant component of popular common cola drinks) were also suspected as possible contributors to low bone density, due to the known effect of caffeine on calciuria. One other study, comprised of 30 women over the course of a week, suggests that phosphoric acid in colas has no such effect, and postulates that caffeine has only a temporary effect, which is later reversed. The authors of this study conclude that the skeletal effects of carbonated beverage consumption are likely due primarily to milk displacement.[4] (Another possible confounding factor may be an association between high soft drink consumption and sedentary lifestyle.)
Cola consumption has also been linked to chronic kidney disease and kidney stones through medical research.[6] This study differentiated between the effects of cola (generally contains phosphoric acid), non-cola carbonated beverages (substitute citric acid) and coffee (control for caffeine), and found that drinking 2 or more colas per day more than doubled the incidence of kidney disease.
congratulations on the pregnancy!
pregnancy scrapbooking?
Lauren
I have been keeping everything from this pregnancy in a plastic box, which is now overfilling with weekly pictures, ultrasounds, and any thing i get from the doctor. Does anyone have any creative ideas of what i could do with them to kinda make it into an album? or what have you done with yours if you decided to keep them? i feel kinda bad just keeping them in a box, and i want to be able to show my daughter one day how excited we were to meet her.. I've been keeping a journal that i plan to give to her one day, about the things we are doing to prepare for her arrival and how excited we are to meet her, but i need help of thinking of how to be creative with ultrasounds and such! THANKS
Answer
When I was pregnant, I chose not to buy one of those pre-made, fill-in-the blank type baby books. Instead, I took pictures, wrote notes, and collected mementos that I used to make a scrapbook. You can buy all sorts of stickers, papers, stamps, buttons, etc that are pregnancy themed at craft stores- hobby lobby, michael's, joann's. You can also order online (check Ebay) or buy from a scrapbook store.
You can do a couple of pages for each month... What you looked like, what foods you craved or hated, anything special that happened that month, things you decided on (like names, room decor). You can make a page of names you considered during the pregnancy- what each one meant, if you liked it or daddy liked it, what made you stop liking it or why you chose not to use it, what made you choose the name that you actually give your child, family's reactions when you told them the name you chose, names your family suggested. You can do pages about the baby shower- pictures of your shower, who threw it, theme, where it was, who all attended, the gifts you recieved, which gifts you thought you'd use the most or would be most helpful (so you can look back and see if you were right). Keep all the cards you recieved and you can make a 'pocket' on the back page for all the cards. You can either do a few pages of ultrasounds to see how the baby has changed over the months, or you can just add them to that month's page.
it's a good idea to buy a baby book from the store, take it home and write down all of the stuff you find interesting that you'd like in your book. You can return the book to the store and get your money back, and you'll have an idea of what to include in your scrapbook.
When I was pregnant, I chose not to buy one of those pre-made, fill-in-the blank type baby books. Instead, I took pictures, wrote notes, and collected mementos that I used to make a scrapbook. You can buy all sorts of stickers, papers, stamps, buttons, etc that are pregnancy themed at craft stores- hobby lobby, michael's, joann's. You can also order online (check Ebay) or buy from a scrapbook store.
You can do a couple of pages for each month... What you looked like, what foods you craved or hated, anything special that happened that month, things you decided on (like names, room decor). You can make a page of names you considered during the pregnancy- what each one meant, if you liked it or daddy liked it, what made you stop liking it or why you chose not to use it, what made you choose the name that you actually give your child, family's reactions when you told them the name you chose, names your family suggested. You can do pages about the baby shower- pictures of your shower, who threw it, theme, where it was, who all attended, the gifts you recieved, which gifts you thought you'd use the most or would be most helpful (so you can look back and see if you were right). Keep all the cards you recieved and you can make a 'pocket' on the back page for all the cards. You can either do a few pages of ultrasounds to see how the baby has changed over the months, or you can just add them to that month's page.
it's a good idea to buy a baby book from the store, take it home and write down all of the stuff you find interesting that you'd like in your book. You can return the book to the store and get your money back, and you'll have an idea of what to include in your scrapbook.
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